Lions, Serpents, and Inbetween
by TheIronyOfLife
Summary: Harry gets more magic, more training, and goes to live with the Twins for the summer. But how long will peace last for the Hero?
1. Waking up to a Brand New Summer

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 1:**

Waking Up to A Brand New Summer

It was the first day of summer, and Harry Potter was lying back comfortably in his bed. He was a most extraordinary boy. He had messy black hair (that he had decided was easiest if merely left to do what it wanted), bright green eyes set behind round glasses, and pale but clear skin set over delicate but still charmingly masculine features. Yet perhaps the must unusual and famous feature about him was his scar; a lightning bolt shaped mark that sat in the center of his forehead. Of course, those were only his physical peculiarities. He was also the most down-to-earth, even tempered (usually), and determinedly pure-minded (well, as pure-minded as being nearly sixteen years old can be) boy you could ever meet. And besides all that, a wizard.

"BOY!" Was suddenly heard loudly from just outside his bedroom door. "Boy open this door, NOW!" His Uncle Vernon said again loudly.

Harry climbed out, wearing his worn flannel pants.

"You hear me in there, boy?" His uncle was saying. Harry opened the door. He watched as his Uncle's eyes darted around the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Harry stepped aside to allow his uncle entrance – before Vernon could just shove him out of the way – and rubbed the last remnants of sleep from his eyes before going to grab his glasses from the bedside table.

His uncle was a large man, thick as a tree-trunk with the complexion of a tomato. He was also one of the most unpleasant people Harry had ever had the misfortune to meet, or grow up with.

"So." His uncle said, crossing his arms. "_So_." He said again a few minutes later. Harry gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to reply 'So what?'. Vernon stared at him very hard for a few seconds more, and then his eyes roved Harry's thin but still muscular body. "There will be _no_ funny stuff this summer. None at all. No _accidentally_ floating cakes...No owls in the dead of night waking us up...no flying cars...and _no strange people visiting! _Not to pick you up or to have a talk with us, not for anything. They want to communicate; they do it by regular post. Understood?" Harry nodded reluctantly, thinking of his best friend, Ronald Weasley, and wondering how to explain to him that he needed to use a mailbox from now on. "And another thing, your..._ school supplies_," He said the words with hesitation. "Are to be kept hidden at all times. Not left about on your desk and such, or on the floor. No feather pens and bottles of ink or the like. Normal pens and bound notebooks. Understood?" Harry nodded again, wondering why his uncle had turned about on his usual policy of not allowing anything to do with Harry's, 'problem' as they liked to call it, in the house at all.

"So I'm allowed to do homework, but I can't leave it about where anyone can see it?" He asked slowly. Vernon's face reddened, but he nodded curtly. "Can I ask why?"

"Aunt Agatha is coming over...along with your cousins." Harry groaned. Vernon glared a moment before turning and slamming the door behind him.

Harry had met his aunt and her notorious family only twice before. Both times Harry remembered almost with affection, they were the most entertaining people Harry had ever met. She had twin boys, and a younger set of twin girls. The boys were only a year younger than Harry, and they each had straw-blonde hair, with watery blue eyes, much like Dudley, except that they were also straw-thin. One was named Richard, and the other was Adam. Richard was a taller version of Adam, but outside of height they were identical. The twin girls however, were night and day; even Agatha, their mother, wasn't sure where Nora, the older of the twins, got her genes. Nora was short and small, while her sister Alberta was tall and wide; a version of Marge herself. Alberta also had her aunt's nasty temper and mean disposition, though she was only twelve. Harry actually rather liked Nora, she was quiet and most similar to himself, in not only temperament and personality, but in physical characteristics too. She had long, waist length black hair that no comb could ever hope to untangle, and bright blue eyes.

Harry stretched his growing frame out again on his bed, thinking how he would manage to keep all of his things out of the way. Particularly his owl Hedwig; she was an obvious curiosity, and not something he could merely stick in his closet. His broom was also going to be tricky. Then he began to wonder what he would be telling Hermione and Ron.

Hermione Granger, one of his best friends from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was muggle-born (meaning she herself was magical, but none of her family was), so he knew he need not worry about informing her that she was now going to have to use muggle post. But Ronald Weasley, his other best friend, was magical through and through. He knew next to nothing about muggles or their society, and was completely unfamiliar with their ways of doing things. Harry doubted he had ever even _seen_ a muggle mailbox, let alone post office. Harry sighed and moved over to his trunk. He opened the lid wearily, gazing at the motley collection of objects he had accumulated over his years of acquaintance with the magical world.

He pulled his Invisibility Cloak, along with the rest of his school robes, out and moved over to hang them up in his battered wardrobe. Next he took all of his schoolbooks out and over to his desk, there he put them in the drawer that he hid all of his textbooks in. After that, he took his pocket sneakoscope out and put it in a different drawer, and then his bag of money, his Marauder's map, all of his quills and bottles of ink, all of his parchment, and then, there at the bottom, sat his Firebolt, next to his broom servicing kit. He looked at his room, wondering where he could possibly put that, that no one would find it. Then his gaze rested on his bed. He pulled it out, set it on his bed, inspected it to see if it needed any kind of cleaning or grooming, then went down the hall for a sheet. He carefully wrapped it up inside the sheet with the broom servicing kit, and then slid it under his bed.

After that, he found all of the sweaters that Mrs. Weasley had made for him over the years. He hung them all up in his wardrobe also. He double checked his trunk to be sure he was leaving nothing behind, and then dragged it out and up into the attic where it would live until he needed it again. He saw his wand sitting where it always did, on his bed stand, and picked it up, inspecting it also for any kind of wear or tear; but it was a powerful magical item, and so took anything that he did to it rather well. When he was satisfied it was well intact, he reverently set it in his desk drawer.

Once all was put away, he threw an old shirt of Dudley's on and went downstairs.

Aunt Petunia's lips pursed when he walked into the kitchen and sat down. "Do something with your hair." She said after eyeing him for a few minutes.

"I can't. Nothing I do to it, even anything... er... that I ever tried at school will make it behave." She glared at him when he stuttered over saying 'magical'.

"Well then we'll just have to cut it, won't we?" She said snidely.

"No, we won't. Because I'll just make it grow back." He stared her down over the table.

"Fine. Look like a mad hoodlum for all I care." She said angrily.

"Well isn't that what you'd like the neighbors to think anyways?" He asked her in an equally angry tone. She wouldn't look at him. Vernon walked in.

"I'm going to install locks on everything in your room so you can lock it up tight." He said gruffly, not looking at Harry either. With that said, he opened the newspaper and started reading. Harry served himself a small helping of breakfast and ate as fast as he could. When he was finished he put his plate in the sink and left the kitchen in equal haste.

Sitting unhappily out on his windowsill was his owl Hedwig. He slid the pane open and moved so she could enter. When she was comfortably perched on the end of his bed, he moved to his desk, pulled out a few owl treats and gave them to her. She cooed happily at him and closed her eyes for sleep. He gazed at her for a few seconds from his chair then turned to write a few letters.

_Hermione,_

_My Uncle's relatives are all coming over. They're all right, better than the Dursleys or Marge, but they are related to Vernon. He says I'm to keep all of my things under lock and key at all times when I'm not present, and what's more, I have to use muggle post to talk to you all... at least until they're gone. I was wondering if it were at all possible for you to perhaps keep Hedwig for me, for however long they might stay? I would be eternally grateful. Another thing, Ron will most likely be curious as to how to use muggle post, as I doubt he even knew they had it, so I warn you, he'll be calling on you for help. I'll explain it to him, as best I can... but... you know him. Anyways. Thank you so much, I know you don't have your own owl, so you're welcome to use Hedwig as much as you might need her, I'll tell her to listen to you. I hope you enjoy your summer as much as I'm going to not enjoy mine. I'll hear from you later!_

_-Harry_

Next He wrote to Ron, a long detailed list of instructions along with it on how to go about finding a mailbox or post office, and a wrapped package of ballpoint pens, notebook paper, envelopes and stamps along with it. He made sure that the fact that you only needed _one_ stamp per envelope was mentioned in there with underlines.

Then, after he'd given Hedwig instructions and the mail, he twiddled his thumbs a few minutes before deciding to go downstairs, hoping to maybe watch some television.

He sat down on the couch next to his cousin Dudley. Dudley scooted to the farthest end, as far away from Harry as he could be without actually getting up and fleeing the room. Harry reached for the remote, and saw Dudley flinch. Harry grinned maliciously, twiddling his fingers over the remote casually. Dudley's eyes widened and Harry smirked, moving his lips silently before picking up the remote and changing the channel. Dudley stared at him, eyes wide, and mouth forming words with no sound. "...M-m-m-m-MUM!" He suddenly screamed. Harry stopped smiling, and looked at Dudley sideways. "Mum..." Dudley repeated in a low whine. Harry just stared at him for a few more seconds and then focused again on the TV.

"I'm glad you didn't rat. It shows you may have some character to you after all." Harry said quietly a few seconds later. Then he moved the remote to sit back between them.

Dudley screamed. Harry looked around quickly, but there was nothing wrong. Dudley's face was contorted with horror. "What?" Harry asked. "What is it?" He scanned the room again, searching for something strange. "What?" He asked again. "WHAT?" He yelled.

"You...you...you..." He was stuttering. Petunia came barreling into the kitchen.

"What happened?" She asked shrilly, scanning the room also.

"He...he...he floated the remote onto the couch... it...it moved by itself...it _moved_..." He mumbled, staring wide-eyed at Harry.

"I did no such thing." Harry said at once. "I picked it up and put it on the couch between us."

Dudley was shaking his head. "No… No... No..."

"I picked it up, I swear!" Petunia's face had gone pale.

"Do you forget the rules here so quickly? Do you forget the laws of _your own world_ so easily?" She asked in a deathly calm whisper. "_Last chance_...you _ever_ use magic in this house again, _ever_...just once more, and you'll be gone just as quick as you can mutter a bloody spell." She turned on her heel and marched back out of the kitchen. Harry stared after her, mouth slightly agape. She had never used any of the actual words before, and Harry was astonished, he hadn't thought that they were even in her vocabulary. Dudley was not smirking like Harry expected him to be. He was staring at him in panic, and then suddenly realizing he was alone with him, fleeing as fast as his fat legs could carry him. Harry looked down at his hands, then at the remote lying a foot and a half away.

He closed his eyes, and imagined himself reaching out to pick it up, but purposely gripped one wrist with the other hand, so that he would not pick it up physically. He felt it slide into his hand easily. His eyes popped open. "Bloody Hell." He muttered, racing up to his room.

_Professor Dumbledore,_

_I performed wand-less magic today, by accident. I don't know what to do. I performed it unconsciously, and my Aunt says that if I use it again that she'll kick me out. I need to learn how to control it. I need help, if I could get some. Thank you,_

_-Harry_

He read it again to himself, wondering if he should explain just precisely what he had done, but then decided that it would have to do. Satisfied, he turned to tie it to Hedwig's leg, but realized that she was gone.

"Bloody hell." He repeated. He scrambled for his notebook, where Hermione had written her muggle telephone number and address years before, then raced down the stairs. He snatched the phone off its hook and called the number written.

"Hello?" A deep male voice picked up.

"Hi, I was wondering if I might talk to Hermione Granger?" He asked politely.

"Yes, just a moment, can I ask who's calling?" The man asked.

"Harry, Harry Potter."

A few minutes crawled by.

"Hello?" Hermione's confused voice picked up the phone.

"Hermione?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Yes...Harry? Is it really you? But I thought that you weren't allowed to use the phone?" She said.

"I'm not. But this is important. Listen, I Just performed wand-less magic, and-" But Hermione cut him off.

"Oh Harry! That's wonderful! Oh my goodness...but that's so _advanced_..." She began.

"Yes, yes, problem is, I did it and I didn't know that I was doing it. And if I do it again, then my Aunt will kick me out. I need to learn how to control it. Has Hedwig showed up yet?" He said quickly.

"Yes, just a few minutes ago. Why?" She asked.

"I need you to write to Dumbledore for me, as I can't. Tell him to send me a book or something...I don't care; I just need something to teach me to control it. Please? I'd call...but...I doubt that would work somehow." Hermione laughed.

"Yes, somehow I don't think that's possible either."

"And muggle mail won't get to Hogwarts." He sighed.

"Alright Harry, I'm composing the letter right now...so what exactly did you do?"

"I levitated the remote onto the couch next to me...and Dudley saw...and... Yeah." Harry sighed again. "But then, I concentrated, and I did it again, but this time I summoned it. So, I know I can do it when I want, but...I don't want to do without knowing I'm doing it, see?"

"Ah, yes. I see. Well, I'm tying it to Hedwig now...he'll probably send you a note directly, but if not let me have the phone number at your Aunt and Uncle's so I'll be able to get in touch."

He gave it to her, and then thanked her profusely, and they said their goodbyes before hanging up. Harry moved and leaned his forehead against the wall, sighing once more.

"What are you doing?" Petunia's suspicious voice came from the end of the hall.

"Being tired. I'm not entirely sure I know how I lifted the remote." He told her slowly.

"Are you saying you're out of control?" She asked sharply.

"No, because I _can_ do it purposely, but...I didn't do it purposely to get Dudley. It surprised me as much as it did him." He replied. Her lips compressed so tightly they were almost invisible.

"Get up in your room and don't come out for anything but meals until you've solved...yourself." She told him. "And you know what, I'll bring your meals up. You're allowed to use the toilet, but that's all. I catch you outside, or anywhere else for that matter, and you're done for." She followed him all the way up, and then closed the door smartly when he was inside.

He sat on the bed heavily.

"First day of damned summer, and I'm already locked up..." He told himself. "Bloody hell!" He cursed again. Then he stood up and paced his room, realizing how little it was doing for him, he pulled out his textbooks. He began re-reading his Charms textbook from the previous year: _Adept Charms; Fifth Year._ But reading all of the notes he'd wrote to himself during class, and notes to Ron and Hermione also, didn't make him feel any better. So he stood and went through his desk drawers, hoping to find something interesting to take his mind off of the fact that he was barricaded in his room for an indefinite amount of time.

He found something. A thick roll of parchment was in the smallest, most bottom drawer of his desk on the left side. He pulled them out, wondering what he could have possibly put in there. He saw that they were letters to Sirius; some were half-finished, some were done. There were replies in there too. He set them down carefully and leaned back in his chair. He covered his face with his hands...

He'd nearly put it from his mind. Sirius, his only real, true, actual parent that he had ever gotten a chance to know, was gone. Sure, he had Remus, but Remus was never really a _fatherly _figure, Remus had always been the mentor, the teacher, the one to go to when he had a problem with trying to figure something out intellectually, not emotionally. And Arthur Weasley had always been just an eccentric uncle; and then Dumbledore was the omniscient old grandfather that had too many grandchildren to pay enough attention to one in particular. No other person had even come close to being parental in any way; besides Mrs. Weasley...but that was motherly, which was an entirely different thing.

But Sirius had been like a dad, and a best friend, and a guide, and someone that was there to be anything Harry ever needed him to be. But he had fallen through the veil... he was gone. Harry hadn't let himself remember it, because in remembering it, he remembered how stupid he had been to fall for the Dark Lord's trick. He'd gone to _save _his best friend and godfather, and instead had led everyone he loved into a trap, and gotten the person he was bent on saving, killed.

He broke off of that train of thought angrily. He knew he'd screwed up, which was why this year; he was intent on taking the Occlumency lessons and beating Snape finally. He would learn to block Voldemort from his mind once and for all, so that nothing and no one would know what was inside his mind.

He leaned forward once more, flattened out the letters carefully, reverently, and began to read them, remembering all that he had shared with Sirius, and all that Sirius had helped him understand.

**Author's Note: **Okay, I know that it start's out slow...and that it's kinda weird...but it'll get better. By the way, this is probably going to be a long story, and stay slow for awhile, so if you're more into things that are fast and get to the point quick, i wouldn't continue. You'll just get bored.

Thanks, Review, tell me if I'm great or ifI suck. Thanks!


	2. Learning is More Fun Than He Thought

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 2:**

Learning Is More Fun Than He Thought

He woke up after hearing the door close loudly. He saw that a breakfast had been laid on his desk. He sat up, went over and sat down to eat when he heard a tapping on his window. He looked over to see a handsome black owl hovering outside. He opened the window and let the creature in. It sat calmly and let him untie the letter from its leg before flopping onto the bed in a rather ungainly fashion. He watched the awkward owl a second before unrolling the parchment.

_Harry:_

_I knew that this would most likely happen at some point, though I admit I did not expect it so early in the summer. I have sent you some help, she should be able to teach you the basics of wand less magic, as she is rather adept at it herself, and on top of that, she'll be teaching you a few other things that you would not normally learn in the Hogwarts educational system, but I think might come in rather handy for the future._

_Thank you for informing me as promptly as you did, and please, assure Miss Granger that you are quite well, as she is rather worried. Enjoy your holidays!_

_-Prof. A. Dumbledore_

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Then turned back to the owl sitting on his bed, wondering what the Professor might have sent. But instead, he saw a rather small black cat, and the owl was nowhere to be seen. He stared at it before sliding his wand from his pajama pocket where he had slept with it.

Before he had gotten it fully out, the cat had shifted into a very, very small woman. She couldn't have been more than four and a half feet tall, her hair was wildly curly and golden red, and pulled up in a ponytail on top of her head; but even so, it reached all the way down her back. Her eyes were as green as his, and as he looked closer, it seemed that she was wearing no clothing at all. His eyes widened, she had nothing covering her save a second skin, which looked as though it were green leather. Though it couldn't have been, as it faded into her skin where it met her neck and wrists. Her feet curled up into sharp points at the ends, the same way muggles imagined that elves' shoes did.

He couldn't help but stare for a few more seconds before closing his mouth and gripping his wand tighter.

"Hello." She said, her voice wasn't high-pitched like he imagined, but sounded smooth and melodic even. "My name is Alima." Harry was speechless. "It's nice to meet you." About a minute crawled by with Harry staring dumbly at her. "It seems you really are as talkative as Dumbledore said." She raised an eyebrow.

"Er-Harry. My name is Harry. Nice to meet you. Er, sorry, this will probably come out to be a bit rude, but, er, what are you?"

"I'm a dryad, we're from Greece. Forest sprites. Not a hamadryad, otherwise I wouldn't be able to leave. But, are you familiar with us?" Harry nodded.

"But... but I thought that dryads, and nymphs and sprites were generally shy... so why...?"

"Ah. Yes, my kind usually hide, unless provoked-"

"Or unless they're feeling troublesome." Harry put in. She smiled.

"Yes. We can be mischievous. I however, am not shy, nor am I mischievous...often. I like learning, and being around Dumbledore is...quite educating." It was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow. "But, now that you understand what I am, allow to get to what I am here for: I'm going to teach you to use your new powers." He stared. "Please set you wand down, if you would."

"Already?" He asked, surprised.

"You did want to learn, did you not?" She looked at him questioningly.

"Well-yes-but-"

"Well then. Set down the wand, and grab a quill, a pen, a notebook, and a book from your desk and lay them all here across the bed." He stared at her a minute. Her eyebrows creased in impatience. "_Now_, if you would." He grabbed them all and set them on the bed, then gazed down at her. "Go sit back in the chair. I'm going to test you." He sat facing her. "Now lift the quill off the bed."

Harry concentrated, and it rose about three inches. "Good." She said, her eyebrows going up. "Now the pen." He lifted it up as high as the quill. "The notebook." It went up about an inch. "Now the book." He had to concentrate harder to make that one work, but in the end it floated six inches off the bedspread.

"How do you feel?" She asked peering at him closely.

"It was more difficult to do that than to do the remote yesterday. But fine." She peered at him a moment more.

"Eat your breakfast then we'll try some other things." She said abruptly. Harry turned around and looked at his cereal.

"Are you hungry?" He asked. "There's some fruit here."

"No, I'll be able to find my own food, but thank you." She said, she was walking around his room, tapping the walls at intervals, inspecting the doorframe, peering into his wardrobe, and then looking through his desk, keeping out of his way the entire time. Then she peered under his bed, she felt on the Firebolt for a second, then left it alone. After that, she started to tap on the floor, on every single plank there was. He watched her as he ate, wondering what she was checking for.

"Can I ask you how you met Dumbledore?" He asked abruptly. She had her ear pressed to the floor for a few more seconds before replying.

She sat up and looked around again, scrutinizing the whole room. "He caught me." She said simply.

"As in, out in the forest he caught you?" Harry asked in disbelief, it was nearly impossible to catch a sprite, especially when they were in their own forest.

"Yes, in my own too. It was so embarrassing. He was sitting, sleeping against a log near my friend's pool. I stopped above him, as he was the first human I'd ever seen so far into the forest, I was only a few centuries old or so then, but then suddenly he had me by the ankle. I still don't know how he moved so fast, but, once we're gotten a hold of, we can't get away until we're released willingly. Every trick and plea I had wouldn't make him let go. No promise, no lie...nothing. Then he promised to let me go if I would just sit and listen to his proposal. Of course, I thought he would just drone on and on about something useless that I had no interest in...So I promised. And he started talking, still holding onto me. He told about the wonderful school he taught at, and all the places he'd visited, and the wonderful things he'd seen and done. Soon he had me charmed. So entranced that I didn't even notice that I was sitting in front of him by my own free will, nor that I was asking him questions." He saw her smile vaguely. "I was his from then on." Harry cocked his head to the side in thought.

"Just how long ago was this?"

"Long enough ago that your dear headmaster had not a single gray hair on his head." Now she smiled widely. "More like a mane of auburn, he'd only been teaching for...goodness, two or three years." Harry's eyes widened.

"How old _are _you?" He asked in awe.

"About...five hundred and...Three, now?" She asked herself.

"How old is Dumbledore then?"

"Must be nearing ninety or so. But he'll be lasting to nearly one-hundred and fifty, I'm guessing, amount of power he's got." She nodded solemnly.

"When you say...you were _his_...?" Harry didn't finish the sentence. And Alima just smiled secretively.

"I'll let you ask my children that." And she winked at him. Harry's eyes widened once more.

"He-you...they're...bloody hell..." She laughed. "Half dryads? I didn't even think that was possible. Aren't you considered a different species? Two different species can't breed and make offspring..." Alima laughed.

"Look at the world we live in Harry, scientific laws hardly apply anymore." Harry was amazed once more.

"You know about scientific laws?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes, very well, seeing as I followed along with the latest scientific discoveries made by muggles over the last sixty years." Harry's jaw dropped.

"So...so...wow...you're... wow. You need to meet Hermione." Was all he could say.

"Back to the reason I'm here. You're finished with your breakfast, I'm assuming?" Harry nodded. "Well, then let's start teaching you then."

"Put the book on the desk." He stood to grab it. "Use your noggin!" She rapped on his head with a knuckle. He sat back and concentrated on it, and it slowly moved from the bed to the desk next to him. "Now put it back on the bed." He did so. "See if you can open that drawer." He concentrated on opening the drawer beside him, where the books all went. "Don't think so hard, just imagine that you're opening it, and then want it opened." Harry relaxed, and gazed at it, thinking about opening it, and how much energy he might need to open it...and it slid open easily. Alima smiled from behind him. "Now put the book inside." It floated from the bed to inside the drawer. "Close it." He closed it. "Was that hard?" She asked, turning him around to face her.

"Not once I got the hang of it. You don't need to concentrate as hard as I thought. You just have to want it to happen."

"Exactly."

The door burst open suddenly. Harry saw that he was holding a mewing black kitten in his hands.

"Another bloody animal? Put it out." Vernon had come with locks to install them everywhere in Harry's room.

"Did...did Petunia tell you...er...what happened...yesterday?" Vernon stopped, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Harry guessed that he hadn't heard. "Well, I, well I accidentally..." He tapered off.

"You what?" Vernon asked in a dangerously soft voice.

"I well...I gave the remote to Dudley, by, by...er... you know." Vernon's eyes bulged. "It was _completely_ by accident! Turns out I can do it without a wand! It wasn't my fault! And now I have a teacher and I'm learning-" Vernon's face was purpling and contorting with fury. Harry was watching it get redder and redder; he was going on burgundy when he finally exploded.

"YOU DID _WHAT_ IN MY HOUSE? _HOW_ MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO _NOT USE THAT IN MY HOUSE_? AND THERE'S ANOTHER BLOODY MANIAC IN MY HOUSE? WHERE? _WHERE_?" He was roaring, but slowly catching his breath, Harry stood up, setting Alima down on the bed, holding his finger up.

"Like I was saying." Harry said reassuringly, afraid of another explosion. "I now have a teacher, and I'll be learning how to control this new power quickly. I need a deadline though, when is Aunt Agatha getting here?"

"Next week." Vernon growled.

"I should know enough by then to control myself. Would you like to meet my teacher?" Harry asked carefully. Vernon looked around the room again, and then reluctantly nodded. "Don't be alarmed." Harry warned, turning to the black kitten sitting quietly on his bed; only it wasn't a black kitten, it was Alima, in all her glory.

"My name is Alima, a dryad from northern Greece, I will be teaching Harry to control his newly found wand-less magic, and how to take animagus form, and some defensive spells also. Please, I would suggest not entering this room without knocking any longer, otherwise you may be very – ah – confused as to what you may find; and another thing, you need not install any locks, as we will lock the room ourselves."

Vernon's eyes were huge as she said all this. "Get that out of my house. NOW!" He roared. "I told you no bloody weirdoes coming over! And what's the first bloody thing you do? You invite one into MY house! Out! Now!" And he pointed to the window.

"I'm afraid that that is not possible. If you would like to _not_ have Harry levitating things all around him, cursing you or your family by accident, or perhaps even making the house fall apart or shift itself, then I would suggest allowing me to stay here and teach him. I can teach him how to not do these things. By the way, the magic he knows, the Ministry of Magic cannot detect it, so he could do whatever he liked with you and your family, and they would never know it. You would be at his mercy." She said the last part gravely. "Do you still wish me to leave?" She asked after a minute of silence.

"What's a damn Anima...thingy?" He asked instead.

"An Animagus is a wizard that can shape shift himself into a particular animal at will. It is very advanced magic, but Harry is a powerful wizard, I'm sure he'll learn quickly enough." Vernon looked back at Harry appraisingly.

"Powerful, eh? Then how come he can't do a damn thing right? Like being normal maybe?" He grumbled. "You're on your own keeping the damn place locked up. If they walk in on anything... it'll be your bloody head." He pointed at Harry. "And you can't go wandering around my house looking like that." He pointed at Alima accusingly.

"Don't worry sir, inform your family that they have recently adopted a new kitten, and no one need ever know that I'm here." She said calmly.

"No, _he_ adopted a new kitten, and _he _is finding your food, and _he _is taking care of whatever it is you might need. _Not _us." She nodded. "Good. Now that we are understood...watch yourself carefully, boy." He threatened one last time.

When the door was shut firmly, Alima turned to Harry. "Place a silencing charm on the door." He stared at her disbelievingly. "Without your wand, silence the door." He looked at it and gulped. "All you have to do is want it, and you can do it. You'll feel the magic move through you." He frowned, not feeling anything. Then, as he was whispering the words to himself, he felt it flow from his fingertips and into the door in one big surge.

He gasped, feeling strange and a bit light-headed.

"Can you feel it? You're probably feeling your magic more now than ever before, yes?" He nodded, knowing his eyes were wide behind his glasses. "That's your essence, that's a part of your soul, part of your energy. You use that energy every time you cast a spell, which is why after casting a certain amount of spells you start to feel drained." She paused and tapped her lip. "When you use a wand, the wand focuses the energy through it, like a channel, and it makes it easier to cast a spell. Now, anyone can do wand-less magic, because everyone has magic in them, but only people who use their magic often, and keep it going and healthy can control it and use it to their own benefit, _without _a wand. Your magic is just like your body, like a metabolism, you have to feed it, and keep it in good shape and well used to make it work the way you want it to. _You_ have an abnormal amount of magic in you to start - unlike most wizards – who have to work their energy up to the right point so that they can use it. Therefore, for you, it is much easier to use wand-less magic. Not to mention the fact that by using advanced spells, and working with them as often as you do, you keep your magical self in tip-top condition."

"So...every witch or wizard has a magical energy core that they need to keep well conditioned, much like you would keep your body well conditioned and in good shape, basically?" Harry asked, making sure he was on the same page as her.

"Exactly. But like I was saying about the wand being a channel, that makes it so every magical person can do magic. Wand-less magic uses up vaster amounts of your energy, which means that your spells are stronger and will last longer. At the same time, it means that your energy gets drained faster."

"Yes, I see that. So that's the basic philosophy behind using wand-less magic and how it works. And you said that I have an unusual amount to start with? How is that?"

"Well, Albus and I spoke of this before I left, and we came up with a theory. You absorbed some of Voldemort's powers when he attacked you as a child, you speak Parseltongue, you're better than most at Occlumency, and you have a certain connection with him that no one else has. We believe that you absorbed a vast amount of energy from the killing spell that he placed on you also. Have you ever cast that spell?" She asked him; he shook his head. "Wanted to, I believe, said the words, but it didn't actually work, yes?" She asked gently, he nodded hesitantly. "That's because you have to put some of yourself into it, you have so drain a part of your soul, or a part of your magical essence into it to make it work, a whole piece of your magical energy goes into the casting. This means that a large portion of him went into you when he cast that curse fifteen years ago, you stole part of his energy. Now, the strange thing is, as most Dark Wizards who have killed before (if you've ever spoken to any), will tell you, there's a rush, like a high, that you get from killing. What that is, is the energy you put into the curse coming back to you, because the person is dead. Voldemort's energy never went back to him, because you never died. It never went back even now that he's alive again, because otherwise you would be much weaker. He's only partly as powerful as he was before, because _you _have _his _energy." Harry stared, and put his hand to his chest. "On top of that, you're as pure as pure can be, you have love for everyone and everyone has love for you. That's something he does not know or understand. That's why he can't touch you."

"I knew that." Harry said quietly. "I feel bad for him, almost, because of that. I honestly pity him." Alima smiled.

"Yes Harry, I do as well, and so does Dumbledore. I believe that is why he fears you both." Harry stared at her.

"He's not scared of me. He's seen me in combat, I use weak spells and school tricks to hold him off." Harry said scornfully.

"Yet while others have done the same thing in the past and been beaten easily, you seem to wriggle out every time, using simple magic and intelligence. That is what intimidates him about you. I'm sure he dreads the day you become a fully-fledged wizard, when you know how to use magic as advanced as his own, because then, not only will you still be using that keen intelligence of yours, that intuition," she tapped him on the forehead for emphasis, "but you'll have the magical ability behind it to back it up." She smiled weakly and leaned back. "You'll be one to cross, Harry, definitely."

He didn't know what to say. He had never thought he was anything too special, not someone to be feared, not overly able at magic, not keenly intelligent, but it did make sense. Harry felt proud. He looked to the ceiling unconsciously and smiled, wondering what his parents, had they survived, would be saying or thinking right now.

**Author's Note:** Okay, now this chapter I know was also slow...like I said before, It's going to take awhile before this thing picks up any speed.

Review please, I'd like to know if it's good so far or not, and if everything is making sense or not...let me know what I need to edit or fix.


	3. Yay, The Family Is Here

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 3:**

Yay, The Family Is Here!

A soft purring on his forehead woke him up. He opened his eyes and realized that Alima was in kitten form and wrapped around his head. He scooted down the bed so that she was still snoozing on the pillow and got up.

He summoned a shirt to him out of the wardrobe. Since the week before, he had become able to consciously control his magic almost all the time. And because he could use it without the Ministry knowing, he used it every chance he could (outside of the Dursleys knowing, of course).

Today his Aunt Agatha and her children would be arriving. Harry was almost looking forward to it, as life in the Dursley house was at an all-time-low. He was once more allowed to leave his room, that permission having been granted as soon as he was able to control his magic, which was as of five days ago, but not one person in the family would speak to him. In fact, they pretended as if he didn't exist at all, which wasn't unusual, except in the part where they didn't even enslave him to do the menial jobs around the house. But of course he was grateful for that.

His lessons and conversations with Alima were insightful and educating. She surprised him every day with the new things she showed or told him. He found out that she had known a Chimaera that had fought with Hercules when he was still alive, and that she knew Rumpelstiltskin well, he was an old friend, and that she had in fact _been _the fairy that cursed the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Of course he was also surprised that any of those stories were true, as he'd thought them to be muggle-made. But when he told her this, she just winked and said, "Well, where did you think they got the ideas?"

He stood up and stretched, wondering if he had the energy to transfigure his pajamas into something more. He concentrated, imagining a comfortable pair of jeans and a light cotton black shirt. He opened his eyes, and looked down, it was exactly as he'd imagined. He looked in the mirror; they didn't fit him quite the way he wanted, so he altered them here or there until they looked just right.

"Today you'll begin thinking about what form you want to take when changing."

"Pardon?" Harry asked startled, looking down to see a comfortable Alima spread across the head of his bed.

"What animal form you'd like to take when you learn to become an animagus." She said.

"I'm really going to learn?"

"Yes, and we aren't going to register you either, as then they would be able to find you. So you're not to tell anyone that you're learning, not even your friends." She said, eyeing him sternly. He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "Not until you can change completely may you tell them." He nodded curtly.

"As long as they can know. Why don't they learn either?" He asked, the thought suddenly occurring to him.

"They are, I enlisted a few of my more adventurous relatives to do the job. I believe that even Ginevra Weasley is learning, and Neville Longbottom, along with Luna Lovegood." Harry opened his mouth to ask why it wasn't just Ron and Hermione. "They've all become targets, you know." Harry looked at her. "By their participation in your quest to the Ministry earlier this year, they blatantly made themselves your allies and your accomplices. All of them are in hiding and taking extra lessons in defense." He stared.

"Bloody hell." He muttered. "They're all going to get attacked and killed because they followed _me_. Bloody goddamn hell." He pounded his fist against his palm. "Do you know if they're coming along well or not?"

"Miss Granger is second to you, then comes Mr. Longbottom, Miss Weasley, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Lovegood. They're doing rather well, better than we thought that any of you would do." She smiled weakly.

"Neville is doing better than Ginny and Ron?" Harry asked in disbelief. "That's fantastic." Some of his shame and anger was dissipating with that news. "I'll have to owl him...wait, I have no owl, never mind." He tapped his chin. "Hermione can forward it for me." He moved to his desk and wrote a letter out for Neville, then added a note for Hermione, asking her to forward it to Neville for him. He enveloped it and stamped it, and took it downstairs.

He opened the front door, walked out to the mailbox by the sidewalk, and put it inside. Just as he was putting the flag up to indicate mail inside, a black van pulled up in front of him. His fists clenched immediately, and spells were running through his mind. But he recognized his Aunt Agatha in the driver's seat and forced himself to relax.

She cut the ignition and all the doors opened at once. Five children climbed out and so did she. Harry put a smile on his face and welcomed them.

"Harry, nice to see you." She had an equally pained expression on her face, but was polite to him nonetheless.

"Good to see you too, Agatha." He told her. "And you lot, how is everyone?" Richard and Adam's faces both lit up in identical mischievous grins, almost reminding Harry of Fred and George Weasley, except that Harry didn't fear turning into a canary around these two.

"Hello Potter." They both said politely. "Nice to see you."

"Harry." Nora said kindly, actually giving him a hug, which he returned in surprise.

"Hi Nora." He said with equal kindness. "How have you been?"

"Good thanks. And you?"

"Very well." He looked up, seeing Alberta talking to another young female just as rotund, unattractive and mean looking as herself. "Hello Alberta." He said evenly.

"Hello Potter." She said just as evenly. "Potter, meet Bernice Goulding, Bernice, this is my cousin's cousin, Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you." The dark-haired, plump girl said coldly.

"Nice to meet you too." Harry said with a grim smile. "Where are everyone's bags?" He asked, diverting his attention from the rude set of girls. "Let me help you carry that in Nora." He said taking the heavy shoulder bag from her. "Alright, we'll go inside and let the family know you're here."

He led them all up the path and to the front door, opening it and helping everyone inside. He let them set their things down in the living room and went to the kitchen to find Petunia setting out an enormous breakfast. "They're here." He told her.

"Yes, I heard them come in. Finish setting the table so I can go get Vernon and Dudley." Harry nodded, waited for her to leave and then waved his hand. Dishes, silverware, place mats, and napkins all magically set themselves in all the right places, the table even moved into the middle of the room so that there would be space all around.

With that he turned and went back to the living room. He sat on the couch next to Nora, smiling down at her. Everyone was a bit silent.

"Petunia is getting Vernon and Dudley now." He told Agatha. Another minute of silence crawled by. "So how was the drive?" He asked into the quiet.

"Rather well. It's not a holiday so the traffic wasn't bad, thank goodness. And that van drives like a dream."

"I saw it, is it new?"

"Got it last month."

"Nice." He said. "So anything new or interesting happen lately? How's Geoffrey?" Harry inquired politely.

"He's on a case right now, you know how lawyers are, he's hardly come home for a week now." She laughed dryly. "You've met Bernice, right?" She asked suddenly.

"Yes, Alberta introduced us." It was silent for a few more minutes until Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley burst into the room.

"Agatha, _darling_!" Petunia cried. "How _are_ you?"

"Richard! Adam! How are you boys? Not getting into trouble, are we?" Vernon pulled the boys into a bear hug.

"Hello Aunt Agatha." Dudley said sullenly. Harry knew he didn't much like her; she wouldn't fawn over him or give him money like Marge did. "Hello Richard, Adam, Alberta, Nora." He nodded to each in turn. "Been well, I hope?" They all nodded. "And who is this?" Dudley looked at Bernice inquiringly. "Hello, I'm Dudley Dursley."

"Bernice Goulding. Nice to meet you." She shook his hand.

"Are you a friend of Alberta's?"

"Yes, I'm spending the summer with them all." She responded.

"Very good." Dudley nodded and turned to hug Agatha, as was required.

When introductions all around were finished, everyone moved to the kitchen for breakfast.

In the middle of it, Harry felt something rub against his leg. He was sitting to the left of Nora, and Adam was on his other side. Richard and Dudley were across from them. Harry looked down to see Alima purring against his leg in kitten form. So he picked her up gently and set her in his lap, taking care that neither Petunia nor Vernon were paying attention.

"Hi kitty..." He said gently. Nora noticed her and awed in girlish delight.

"Awwwwww..." she said. "Can I pet her?" She asked quietly. Luckily Petunia and Vernon were too absorbed in their conversation with Agatha to take notice.

"Sure go ahead. But I warn you, she has a nasty temper sometimes." Alima glanced at him and then rubbed on Nora's hand, still purring.

"What's her name?" Nora asked quietly.

"Alima." Harry answered. "I got her a week ago, found her out in the street, took her in. She was too sweet and adorable to just leave out there, so I brought her home." Harry smiled down at her; she had on a happy kitty smile as Nora scratched her ears.

"Now nice." Nora said sincerely. "That's so sweet."

"Of course, that means she ignores everyone else, usually." He smiled. "You must have something special about you." Nora smiled widely.

"I'm good with cats." She said happily.

After breakfast was finished, Harry excused himself to go upstairs.

"Oh, oh, can I come with? I want to play with the kitten!" Nora asked her mother.

"Sure go on ahead, dear." Agatha said casually. Vernon's face contorted for a second, and Petunia paled. Harry looked at them helplessly, figuring they would come up with a reason for her to stay downstairs.

"Alright." He said when his Aunt and Uncle made no plausible objections. "Come along then." He carried Alima upstairs on his shoulder, her favorite perch while in feline form, and waved his finger casually over the doorknob before opening it.

"Go ahead and play with her while I do some homework." He told Nora. She nodded, sitting on his bed with Alima.

He pulled out his notebook and began to mentally take inventory of all the Potions ingredients he had, and all the ones he would need, and the ones he needed to refill. Then he listed them:

_-robes_

_-quills_

_-parchment_

_-ink_

_-boots_

_-need to visit the twin's new shop_

_-find any books about animagi_

_-advanced spell-books_

_-new clothes in general_

Then he ran his finger down the page, applying a disillusionment charm, so that if anyone were to read it, they would see any normal shopping list, besides himself of course.

"Alima... kitty, kitty, kitty." He called. She leapt from Nora and onto his lap immediately. "Oh, you're so cute..." He was holding her up and looking at her. She raised one kitty eyebrow. He smirked.

"You know, she matches you." Nora said suddenly. Harry was laughing and distracted by the look on Alima's face.

"What?" He asked absently.

"She matches you. Black hair and green eyes." She repeated. "It's rather cute." Harry smiled and looked at Alima's face again. It was resigned.

"She does, doesn't she?" He said, almost to himself. With that he pulled out an encyclopedia of animals that he had found in his room, one of the things Dudley had left there. He began flipping through it, eager to find an animal that would suit him.

"Hmmm." He said to himself absorbed in the description of a grizzly bear.

"What are you doing?" Nora asked over his shoulder. He jumped; he'd forgotten she was still in his room.

"Animal Report, for...Science class." He lied easily. "We have to study one animal from each continent, an animal that's indigenous to that continent, and turn it in at the beginning of the year." He said smoothly, surprised at himself. "I'm doing this one for North America, as wolves are around here too."

"Ah." She accepted it easily. "Why don't you do mythical creatures?" She asked after a few minutes.

"What?" He had begun reading again.

"Mythical creatures." She asked keenly. "There are far more mythical creatures to choose from than there are normal ones. And every area has their own." Harry stared at her a second.

"But it's for science class." He reminded her uncomfortably.

"Ah yes, that's right." She said, but didn't sound convinced. He looked at Alima, and saw she was staring at the girl keenly.

Nora left his room fifteen minutes after that, saying she needed to go to the bathroom. When she was gone, Harry locked the door and cast a silencing charm combined with a befuddlement charm so that were anyone to stand outside his door, they would merely hear him listening to music.

"What the hell was that?" He asked Alima immediately. "Did you hear that?"

"I heard it louder and clearer than you." She said. "Cats have sensitive ears. It seemed to me she knew you were lying, though I must admit it was a very good lie."

"But the comment about mythical animals, that was bizarre."

"Indeed that was." She nodded. "I detect magic in her. But she didn't have enough to receive a letter from Hogwarts. Perhaps she can feel you. You do have a powerful magical aura." She told him; Harry stared.

"She has magic?" He asked in disbelief, ignoring the comment about his aura. Alima nodded. "Just not enough?"

"Precisely. You have to have a certain amount to start with in order to hone your abilities, she fell _just_ shy." Harry paused in thought.

"Do you think she knows she has it?" He asked; Alima nodded.

"She probably realized she has...abilities that others don't. And she's much more perceptible to the magical world than other muggles would be."

"But, if she's a muggle, who's just under the wire, wouldn't she be able to see, say, The Leaky Cauldron?" He asked her.She thought a moment.

"If she tried, yes. But someone would have to tell her it was there."

"Ah." He sat in thought for a few moments. "I'm looking at animals." he told her, moving back to his encyclopedia.

"I noticed."

"What type of animal would you recommend?" Alima got comfortable on his bed.

"Big, strong, able to cause physical harm, but still fast and able to run for long distances if necessary. But not so big that you can't hide if needed." Harry nodded.

"Something indigenous to Britain, though?" He asked, looking at the bear again.

"Preferably. Though if there is something you see, that fits the profile, it will work as well."

"I was going along the lines of wolf, though I'd rather not." Thoughts of both Sirius and Remus were going through his head. "Stag, but probably not as it'd be too weak. Or maybe one of the great cats. A panther, or leopard... cheetah maybe..." He was flipping through the cat section. "I found it." He said suddenly. "Laughing Hyena. It's a mix between a dog and cat, big, strong, fast, perfect sense of smell, but not as big as a great cat would be." he kept reading. "It's the biggest Hyena there is, andI have to admit,I do like the way it looks."

Alima flitted over behind him and read the profile over his shoulder. "Yes, I think that would be a perfect choice." She kept reading a moment. "Know that you will have markings, markings that prove that you are an animagus. On your face there will most likely be circles around your eyes...you'll have a black ruff instead of auburn or gold...and the eyes will be green instead of yellow." Harry nodded.

"I figured. But that's alright with me."

"Alright. Now stand up here in front of me." Harry obeyed, once more amazed at how petite she was. "Hands at your sides...close your eyes...and feel yourself."

"What?" He asked, eyes popping open.

"Take inventory of all of your physical body parts...every last one. Every finger...the parts of your arms, feel how they move...shoulders...how your shoulders attach to your neck and head...your facial features...the way they move...how your chest feels...the way you hold yourself...down to your waist...the way you stand...feel your abdomen, below your waist, how that feels," at this Harry turned red, "Your behind, be conscious of it...your legs...the way they bend also...how long they are...how big your feet are...the way your toes move...the way your knees bend...everything. Just feel. Become familiar with yourself." Harry took a deep breath and moved all of his limbs experimentally, feeling how they connected and shifted, how they moved easily and gracefully. He could feel where they all fit, how everything shifted in sync and with an easy rhythm.

"Now think of a hyena...what does it look like? How do you imagine it moves?" She told him. "How big is it? Everything about a hyena that you can bring to mind that you know right now, I want you to think about." He nodded and took a deep breath to focus. After a few minutes with Harry's intense concentration, Alima spoke. "All right. You're done for the day." Harry's eyes popped open.

"Excuse me?" He asked, confused.

"You will do this exercise everyday until you can conjure the image and the feeling of what it might be like to be a hyena immediately to your mind."

Harry nodded, slightly disappointed. "So what are we doing now?"

"We're going to have to wait until we can get to London to go shopping. We need to get some things." Harry looked at her questioningly, but she didn't say anything more. Then someone knocked on the door. Harry cut the music spell, undid the silencing charm, and unlocked the door with a wave of his hand.

"Hey, I'm back. Let's see if we can leave and go walk somewhere?" Nora asked him.

"Sure." He shrugged, picked up Alima, put her on his shoulder, and followed Nora out, locking the door with a snap of his fingers.

"What was that for?" She asked. He looked at her questioningly. "You snapped your fingers."

"Oh, that...I do that out of habit, sometimes I'll just snap my fingers. I dunno, I've done it for awhile now." Alima purred into his ear.

"Petunia, Nora wants me to take her for a walk, show her around the neighborhood. Is that alright?" Harry asked Petunia politely.

"Ask Agatha." Petunia said haughtily.

"Aunt Agatha, would you mind if I took your daughter out for a walk? She'd like to see the neighborhood." Agatha nodded, and Nora smiled widely.

"Then let's go!" Nora said excitedly.

"Grab your jacket and your scarf, I'll be there in a minute." Harry called to her. "Petunia, I need to speak to you privately later." He said in an undertone. Petunia glared at him and looked as though she were ready to give a nasty retort, but held her tongue. "I need to go shopping for some projects from school." He told her. She paled.

"School? And what school are you in now?" Agatha asked.

"St. Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys." Vernon piped in before Harry could reply.

Agatha turned to look at him. "Incurably Criminal?" She asked raising an eyebrow. "He might be dysfunctional, but surely not criminal." Harry frowned at being spoken of as if he weren't there.

"We'd rather be sure that he's well cared for." Vernon said, seeing mutiny on Harry's face and daring him to say otherwise.

"I hope they're good there." Agatha turned to him.

"Very strict, you break a rule, just one tiny thing and you're in deep, but they _are_ fair." He said through gritted teeth.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." She smiled indulgently. "Now, go give my daughter a tour of the town. Off with you!"

Harry tried not to stomp out of the house. _So Vernon was still telling people that? _He asked himself. _The bloody git_. Harry would be sure that Vernon had bad luck for the rest of the week.

"What was that about?" Nora asked when they'd closed the door and walked to the sidewalk.

"Oh...just Vernon being..." He refrained from finishing that sentence the way he wanted. "...Vernon. As usual."

"Yeah...Vernon isn't a very nice man." Harry looked at her in surprise. "I see the way he treats you, and the way he talks to you, and hear the way you respond. You don't get along very well, do you?" She asked acutely.

"Well...no, we don't. We never have."

"Why do you live with them then?"

"Because they're the only family I have." Harry replied quietly.

"I always wanted to ask, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to...but, whatever _did _happen to your parents?" She said uncertainly.

Harry thought for a moment before answering. "They were murdered, by a very, very bad man." Nora gasped. "Petunia tells everyone that they died in a car crash, but it's not true."

He could almost feel her staring at him. "Did they ever catch him?" She asked quietly. Harry smiled coldly.

"No, not yet. But everyone who's able is working on just that." He assured her.

"How come I never heard of this?" She asked.

"People wanted it covered up, because the guy did such a good job of it. They couldn't figure out who it was or how it happened or why." he paused. "And your mum probably doesn't even know the truth herself, if she even wonders."

"Where were you at the time?"

"I was there...he left me alone...actually...the only thing he left on me was this." Harry traced his scar with his finger. "I was only a year old. Then they sent me here, and this is where I've been ever since."

She was staring at him. Harry glanced at her uncomfortably. He noticed a tear falling down her cheek. "Don't be sad for me! It's nothing, I got over it a long time ago, it doesn't hurt me anymore..." He tried to console her.

"But they wonder why you're _different_...if _my_ parents were murdered _I_'d be a bit out of it _too_!" She said through tears.

"Now, now...I know who the man is, and as soon as I'm able to I plan on going after him. Though I have to wait until I'm of age to do that. See?" Harry wished he'd bit his tongue on that; how on earth was he to explain _how _he knew whom the man was?

"That's not for two years!" She said, Harry had to catch himself from disagreeing with her, the Muggle coming-of-age was eighteen, and the Wizarding was seventeen.

"Yes, yes I know. But I've been patient for fifteen years, I can manage another two." He smiled. "You don't have to worry about me, you know. I take care of myself, the Dursley's are nothing more than a house to spend the summer in, believe you me."

"But that's so _sad_!" She cried. "And your school...you _must _hate it."

"You know...the funny thing is, I love it. It lets me get away from everything. I concentrate on school, and the people there, and I get away. It's quite nice."

"You must not break very many rules then...otherwise you'd be in trouble all the time and not having any fun at all." Harry smiled at her mischievously.

"That or I _do _break rules and cover my tracks very well." He winked at her and she grinned.

"I can somehow see you doing that." She agreed.

They fell into conversation easily, and Harry was glad that there was someone in the muggle world who did not recoil or leave the room at the sight of him.

**Author's Note:** Yes, still slow...it will be this slow for awhile, I have to keep setting things up for later in the story. Don't worry, things will make sense eventually; I hope. (hahaha...it will all blow up at some point...)


	4. What Was He Thinking

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 4:**

What Was He Thinking

Animagus training and wand less magic lessons both progressed quickly.

Alima would take on her miniature form so that she could speak to him while he was around the house. She couldn't have been more than three inches tall, and she hid in his collar. After all, she couldn't talk to him while she was in cat form.

Alima told Harry how happy she was at his progression very often.

"Imagine." That was Alima's command to think of himself as a hyena, she would give it randomly, sometimes only once in a day, sometimes five or six times, but always at least once. And it was always while he was preoccupied by something else.

"Now, imagine what it might feel like to change...make it as comfortable or uncomfortable as you want." Now this was new. Harry's brows creased in concentration, but he thought hard. He imagined he felt fur growing thick and rough all over his body, his arms shortened a bit and grew more muscle, hands and feet both turned to paws, legs shortened and joints changed angles, his face went from flat and round to narrow and pointy, tongue elongated...everything he knew would change he thought about.

"Perfect." She said. "Now, do you imagine how good their hearing is? Their smell, their taste? Do you think of what it would feel like to move like that animal, have that gait, use four legs instead of two, have no hands, no voice, do you think of these things when you imagine yourself changing?"

Harry opened his eyes and looked at her guiltily, shaking his head.

"That's alright, most people don't remember these things when they imagine themselves as an animal. Because of this, many animagi don't get the full benefits of being in animal form, because they are only animal in shape, not in reality. Harry nodded, getting the point. "Next time, I want you to remember all that."

They had been there for three days. Harry was beginning to get annoyed by Nora, though he wouldn't admit it. She followed him everywhere, and he was forced to take lessons at night, after the whole house went to bed.

It was on the fourth day that Agatha announced at the breakfast table that she would be making a run to London.

"You're going to London?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Yes, for the day. I have just a few errands to run, and Petunia has offered to watch the hooligans for the day." She smiled her obvious gratitude at Harry's Aunt, who smiled weakly in return. Harry figured Petunia was really quite loathe to watch the bunch, but propriety demanded she offer.

"Well, I have need of a trip to London, if that's okay with you, I have errands of my own. School projects." He said hastily. Petunia looked out the window, glaring angrily at a sparrow on the fence, but did not comment. Vernon's face purpled.

"You'll not bog her down with your presence…" he started.

"Oh no, no, no…it's perfectly alright. If he's ready to go within ten minutes it's fine." She smiled at Harry, without very much warmth. "Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

"I doubt you'd know the place." He answered curtly. Vernon's face contorted, but he restrained himself. "But I know right where it is, and the London Underground is very good, you can leave me off at any convenient station and tell me where you want me to be to get picked up and it'll work out perfect." He promised.

"Don't understand why you need to go shopping in _London_, particularly..." Petunia muttered.

"There's a specialty store there." He assured her.

"Whatever you need." Agatha replied.

He sat in the front seat of the car rather uncomfortably. He was rarely in cars, let alone the front seats of cars.

It was painfully quiet.

Agatha turned on the radio and Harry almost jumped.

"Any music preferences?" She asked him, flipping through stations. He shook his head. She smiled, putting on an American music station. He smiled weakly and went back to staring fixatedly out the window.

Soon enough they were nearing the city itself. "Any station is fine, I'll find my way." He told her.

She pulled over to the next one and let him out. "Thanks Agatha, when do you want to pick me up?"

"Around seven, and if you could be at this same one that'd be perfect." She said, smiling weakly.

"Seven it is." He agreed, closing the car door.

He stepped down, bought his ticket, and moved through the station, waiting for the right shuttle. He hopped on as soon as it came, and was quickly speeding towards The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley.

Thirty minutes later he was climbing the stairs back into the light of day, and then walking down the street he remembered from when he was eleven, walking the same path with Hagrid; the first person he had ever met in the magical world. Well, the first person he _knew _was magical from the magical world.

He found the enormous bookshop easily, and right there next-door was The Leaky Cauldron, sign cracked and lopsided as always. He grinned widely.

He pushed the door open slowly after pulling his bangs as far down his forehead as they would go, in a futile attempt to hide his scar. Problem was, his face had been plastered all over papers and magazines for months now, and anyone who looked at him would most likely notice who he was almost immediately.

"'Arry!" Tom, the old barkeeper called. "Care for a drink?"

"When I'm done with my errands, definitely." He smiled moving through the misty tavern as quickly as he could. "I'll be back later."

"Righto, see you!" Tom winked and grinned, showinghis crooked old teeth. Harry ducked his head down, hoping that not too many people had noticed his presence.

He made it through the bar nearly unscathed.

"Harry!" Someone said from right nearby him. He glanced over to see the Weasley twins. Fred had called his name. "What're you doing here?" Fred asked, almost accusingly.

"Shopping." He stated simply.

"With no one else?" George said, glancing around. Harry realized he was getting anxious, the Twins were never jumpy or on guard; unless they were guilty of rule breaking, of course.

Harry nodded. "What the bloody hell is _wrong_ with you?" Fred asked. "You're his biggest blooming target!" Harry stared for a moment.

"Well…I didn't even stop to consider that…" he admitted. Fred and George both rolled their eyes. George pulled out a mirror, and Harry looked at him curiously.

"It has a communication spell on it. This one's linked up with Remus, or Tonks, whichever of them happens to have it." He said, looking actually quite stern. Harry nodded his understanding. "Hello? Hello? It's George, pick up we got a live one."

A good thirty seconds passed before there was any response.

"Yeah? What happened?" Tonks' perky voice came through the small looking glass.

"Harry decided to take a shopping trip, but we've got him, thought you lot might want to know, maybe send any backup." He responded.

"The brat did _what_ now?" She asked, voice a bit high-pitched. "When I get my hands on his skinny little neck…" a moment passed, and George smirked; he could obviously see something Harry and Fred couldn't. "No…you two have it handled, right? Can you keep an eye on him?" She asked.

"Yes sir, Captain Sir." George replied, saluting. Harry heard a garbled but distinctly indignant reply, and then George was slipping the small object back into his pocket.

"So what exactly made you take this trip in the first place?" Fred asked conversationally, but as they stepped out into the back courtyard, Harry saw that he was looking all around, checking corners and being very careful; he even had his wand out.

"I need school things, and…one of my teachers said that I needed to pick up a few things."

"Like…?" George pressed.

"I'm not entirely sure…so I brought her along with me." He pulled Alima's tiny kitten body from inside his hoodie pocket where she'd been hidden.

Both George's and Fred's wands were trained on her immediately. She shifted into her extremely petite size, scarcely four inches tall, and Harry held her up where they could see her. "This is Alima."

"It's good to see the Weasley twins." Alima said, voice perfectly understandable, despite her dimunitive size. "We have never met, but Albus always had fond stories of you two."

"How would you know we're Weasleys and not Prewetts?" George asked her.

"Because the Prewetts died years ago. Murdered, if I recall correctly. The only one left was Molly, and she married into the Weasley Clan, and had...seven children, two of which are the notorious Weasley Twins." The twins looked at each other.

"Dumbledore's got a secret password that he tells people he trusts. What is it?" Fred asked.

"There is no such password, but if there were, I'm sure it would be something about candy. Probably candy from Honeydukes, as that is his favorite Shoppe." She answered calmly.

They took their wands off of her. "Um, not to be rude or anything, but can I ask what the bloody hell are you?" George said bluntly as Fred tapped the sequence into the brick wall.

"Dryad." She answered quickly. Now she was gazing around nervously too. "I'm from Greece." The twins looked at each other again.

"Alllllllllllright." George muttered. "Lets get to the shop as fast as we can." And they started speed walking down the narrow Alley.

Harry was flabbergasted. His beloved Diagon Alley, the place where he had made his first foray out into the magical world when he was eleven, was desolate. Magical shops and cafes were boarded up or had 'closed' signs in the barred windows, the street was virtually empty and even the sky had a gloomy, gray tint. They passed near Gringott's, and Harry could make out heavily armored goblins standing before the doors; they were all fully decked out for battle, all ten of them. Besides goblins and occasional small huddles of hooded customers, Harry saw no one. Shopkeepers sat at the very back of their stores where they might not be seenor asked to service.

"Here." Fred knocked his wand on a blank brick wall, light flashed and there was an unadorned wooden door there. "Go in." He told George. George entered, and then Harry entered, and last was Fred. "Welcome to our humble abode." He said grandly; Harry was almost startled at the sudden change in demeanor.

"We decorated ourselves." George winked. Harry would have been surprised, but then he remembered that he was dealing with the Twins and wasn't.

The carpet was a deep plum purple. The couch would have been a very handsome couch were it black or even white, and not orange. The lounge chairs opposite the couch also would have been quite beautiful had they not been green. And the coffee table was perfectly out of place also: a gorgeous mahogany beast of a table. Each leg of the fantastically large item was as thick as Harry's thigh, and the actual table itself had to be near two inches thick. It was carved with all kinds of patterns and pictures.

Fred must have noticed him eyeing the table. "Ginny made us buy it. Told us that maybe it would help us get some decorative sense, or something like that."

"Yes, she tried to design the place herself actually, came in measuring the windows and floor… but we were having none of it." George supplied. "She wanted to do the place in green and blue…." He made a face. "The most clichéd boy colors _ever_." Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"And _purple_ is masculine?" He asked hiding a grin.

"Most definitely." They answered simultaneously.

"So why couldn't you wait until later this summer to get your things?" Fred asked, flopping down on the couch. Harry sat comfortably in one of the green armchairs.

"Alima said we needed to get some thing, or some things, and so I figured to do my school shopping while I was here. I didn't realize that it was so…desolate."

"Yeah. Been like this since the Ministry incident. People aren't thinking about how they were running around for a damned _year _with Old Ugly alive again. It's not much different now, he could've blown everyone up any time he chose." Harry nodded, George was right. "Did you want to see the store?" Harry pulled himself from his thoughts and focused back on George.

"Yeah, definitely." He followed the pair through another door that led into a kitchen/lab combo. There were workbenches, empty cauldrons, potions ingredients, half-finished experiments, dinner plates, leftovers, utensils, and food-yet-to-be ingested lying around all over the place. "You know, is it _really _the best idea to have your workshop in the kitchen, with the food?" He asked.

"Probably not, but this room is directly adjacent to the store, and easiest to access, so we use it." George shrugged.

"Enlarged it a bit so there would be separate spaces, but…er…somehow I don't think that quite worked." Harry chuckled at Fred's understatement.

"You poor boys need women. You wait until your mother, Ginny, and _Hermione_ see this place." Harry told them. They both looked horrified.

"We'll clean it up by then." George reassured Fred, and himself obviously.

"Frightened of what Dear Mummy will do?" Harry poked.

"Nah…. Fred's frightened of what Ickle 'Mione will do!" Fred made to punch his twin in the arm.

"Really?" Harry closed his fist to restrain Fred.

"Yep, yep, yep! He's had the crush for ages now! Hahaha!" The look on Fred's face was furious, and hilarious.

"Take the bloody binding spell off so I can kill you." He told George calmly. George looked confused.

"I didn't put a binding spell _on_ you." Harry realized he was still holding Fred back.

"Oh, sorry about that." He relaxed his hand and Fred started forward a pace to punch George, then stopped and looked over at Harry.

"But you're not allowed to use underage magic…" he started.

"Where's your wand?" George asked, following his Twin's logic.

"At the Dursley's in my desk drawer." Harry answered, he'd become so used to his wand less magic he'd forgotten that most people didn't use it. They stared at him.

"You can use wand less magic?" They asked in sync. "Bloody brilliant!" They crowed.

"Now let's go and inspect the store, shall we?" Fred asked, a wide grin on his face, it seemed he'd completely forgotten about George's confession regarding Hermione.

Harry was appalled and amazed. There were rude prank kits, there were undetectable potions to make your friends look like animals for a day…. or just change them different colors. There were 'Common Knowledge Capsules'; they would make you spout the most obscure and random facts. Then of course there was all of the usual: Levitating Lollipops, Skiving Snackboxes, fake wands, hats that made your head disappear, fireworks (Harry was fondly familiar with these), pop-up swamps, and on top of that they made beaches-to go- and forests-as-you-need. Each of the portable environments was good for only one go, but there was an abundance of choices. They even had some that came with animals, but these were extra of course.

He perused the rest of the shelves, noting that they had left nothing out, literally. If Harry hadn't known it was a joke shop he might have been wondering if they ran some sort of Wizarding department store.

They sold make-up for women, it wouldgo on and change to your desired color by itself, though the warning label said that if it were worn for more than ten hours… it would turn to whatever color it felt like being, and then of course you had to have the antidote to even get it off. Perfume that was heavenly, other perfumes that were disgustingly rancid, and other cosmetic products that worked wonderfully under the right circumstances.

And these were only the tip of the iceberg. There was an honest book section, of course it sold books that taught people how to set up simple pranks, or more advanced ones; Harry recognized many pranks the twins had pulled at Hogwarts, or ones that Peeves had done. Harry saw a clothing aisle then, and went over to look at the selection. 'WWW' was stamped across the front of a huge array of different colored t-shirts. On the back it read: 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes…. come for shits and giggles'. Harry smiled. He saw skirts, jackets, girl tees, even jeans that had their WWW printed on it.

"Has your mum seen this shirt yet?" He was inspecting one of the t-shirts.

Fred sidled over and grinned also when he saw what Harry was holding out. "Oh _no_, you think we'd have any in-stock if _she_'d seen 'em? Jeez…that woman. No fun at _all_." He pretended to shiver. "Want one?"

"Sure…. gotta find a proper color here first though…" he found the black section, and pulled out a medium. "Any chance of making the letters green, ya think?" He asked.

"Sure." George came right up and mumbled something. The letters swelled, filled with color and then shrunk again, glowing bright green.

"Nice."

"Got a thing for black and green, eh Harry?" Fred asked.

"Always have."

"Then you should have been a bloody Slytherin!" George crowed.

Harry's grin turned sly. "How do you now I'm not Slytherin at heart?" He asked.

"C'mon now Harry, seriously." George scoffed. "You're such a bloody Gryffindor."

"Seriously. The sorting hat told me I'd do well in either house, and I _chose _Gryffindor. It wanted me in Slytherin though."

Both Fred and George were silent. Finally Fred spoke. "Never told anyone except George this, but the hat wanted _me _in Ravenclaw, told it that it was barking mad of course..."

"It wanted me in Slytherin too though." George admitted. "Said I was ambitious…ha, it was right, _I _was the one to get all this. _He_ made everything, invented most of the lot, but I did the rest of the work." George motioned to his brother.

"Creativity and brilliance meets drive and ambition. You see, that's why you two are so bloody scary, you're brilliant enough to come up with the schemes, and George has the balls to pull the bloody pranks off…. Good Lord, the world needs help with you two loose." Harry told Fred.

"Good lord?" They asked together, perplexed.

Harry peered at them. "You never heard the expression?" They shook their heads. "It's a Muggle religious thing, god almighty and whatnot…jeez comes from the name Jesus, dear god, good lord…. hell…holy shit. They all come from a particular group of religions that came from Christianity. Or Judaism, whichever way you look at. The Jews came first but of course that means nothing to the Christians…but I've now _completely _lost your attention." George and Fred were just staring at him with glazed eyes.

"You talk to Hermione too much." Fred commented. "You even had that Hermione face on…you know, _lecture mode_." He said it with almost fear. Harry laughed, although he knew that the Twins had been on more than one receiving end of a famous Hermione Lecture. They had a right to be afraid.

"Speaking of Hermione…" Harry said evilly. "So... How long has Freddie been onto my little bookworm?"

"Yours?" Fred asked warily.

"Well, she's my sister almost and someone has to claim her to protect her virtue.I happen to be present so that responsibility falls to me." He said proudly, resting an arm and leaning on the rack beside him.

"Ah, good then. Well…since you three were in fourth year." Fred scratched the back of his head nervously.

Harry caught George smirking. Harry's mouth was open but he didn't know what to say. "She was _fourteen_!" He gasped out.

"I know, and just proving to the world that she was female. And then she came down at the Yule Ball…oh yes, there was no doubting at that point…" Harry remembered that well, and couldn't fault Fred any longer.

"Yes that _was _the year she proved to everyone that she was female." He agreed. "So, do you have any plans to ask her out?"

"Her? Now? No! Are you out of your blinkin' mind? She'd eat my face! She'd tell me all about how much time she has to devote to NEWTS, and what she's gotta do for you and the Order…and the list would go on and on forever, and, she's underage anyways. I was going to wait until you're all out of school."

Harry looked at him gravely. "Fred, no one knows that we'll even be able to graduate from school. Voldemort is loose again remember?" He rolled his eyes when they both flinched at the name. "He's after me, and he's after them too. If you want her, I suggest putting it to her now, at least get her thinking about it. Never know how long anything…or sadly anyone, will last anymore." Harry said somberly. Fred looked at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" he stared off at the wall of charmed edibles.

Harry turned to George questioningly. "Is Freddie scared of what the Bookworm might say?" He asked George. George smiled evilly and nodded.

"Scared to death." They both laughed.

**Author's Note:** yeah...slowly but surely it's moving along...we have to set it up, remember?


	5. Shopping

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 5:**

Shopping

They spent a few more minutes in the shop perusing and laughing over some of the objects, until Alima finally coughed in Harry's ear to regain his attention.

"We need to get an Invisibility Cloak." She told him.

"But I have one already." He said out loud. Fred and George turned around to look at him. "Alima." He said, and pointed at his ear, where she was just visible, standing on his shoulder.

"Another one wouldn't hurt." She said. "We'll also need to get you some battle gear; we'll head off to Malkin's I suppose…" she began muttering to herself.

"Battle gear, I hear?" Fred asked, leaning forward. "You know, we have some of the most sought after battle gear in Diagon Alley, as it so happens." He headed over to the back of the store with Harry following. "Whole defensive _section_, in fact." He un-spelled a door and entered the adjoining room. "We order things from all over, if you can't find what you're looking for in here, then you must not know what you're looking for." he stepped aside to allow George and Harry to both enter.

"Yes, our relation to Charlie is proving to be of benefit after all. We get first-pick of all dragon hide that comes off the reservation. Quite nice." He moved over to wave at a mannequin nearby. "There's every kind of dragon hide in here you can think of…"

Harry had studied some kinds of dragons during his fourth year, and the varieties he was seeing here in Fred and George's back closet were astounding him. There were iridescent jackets, and bright green pants, black boots, red shirts and breastplates…and it was all dragons.

"We've got the biggest selection of dragon-products in Great Britain next to the Drake itself." Fred said.

"Drake?" Harry asked distractedly.

"Big company that specializes all in dragon stuff. But our stuff is better because we make it to be _practical_ and not_ pretty_. There's nothing here that you can't use." George supplied.

"These boots are gorgeous…" he said. He was holding up a pair of black-scaled moccasins that laced up to the knee. "How much?" He asked.

"Nothin'." George said immediately.

"Well how much are they for _normal_ people?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"I'm not tellin'." George said stubbornly and turned away before Harry could say something scathing. Harry flipped the shoe over to look for a price tag. One hundred and fifty galleons. He whistled.

He moved about the space slowly, looking at every article of clothing carefully. He found black trousers that fit him perfectly, and laced up in the front, and were tight in the leg so as to fit into his moccasins easily. After that he found a supple coppery shirt that fit him easily.

"Why don't you go with this one, instead of that raggedy thing." Fred handed him a beautiful shimmering white garment. "The savior of the Wizarding world has to look the part after all."

"Made from the biggest, meanest Antipodean Opaleye to ever grace Charlie's reservation. So he says. And it covers more of you than that other one." George pointed out.

Harry slid the copper one from his shoulders and put on the bright one. It laced up his sides, clinging tightly to his stomach and ribcage, or hanging loosely, depending on how tight you'd rather wear it. It was snug across his chest, though not uncomfortable, and along the back of the right shoulder, there was a flap all the way to his elbow, though Harry couldn't tell how it attached.

"Here…" and Fred stepped forward and wrapped the extra hide around Harry's arm, trimmed it with his wand, and then laced it around Harry's bicep.

"That protects your shoulder from getting hit with anything while you're in the middle of something. Cuz Merlin knows if you get hit on your wand shoulder…you're as good as done." George said seriously. "You look…odd." George said after inspecting him a moment, and cocked his head to the side.

"It's cuz I'm so darn skinny." Harry said ruefully. "Alima said we're going to be getting into physical training in a few weeks though, so i'm not too worried. I'll be built soon enough."

"Few days, actually." She transformed into her usual size and stood back to inspect him herself. "Looks good…and it's practical. Perfect, exactly what I was looking for."

"Yeah, that must be it. But now you need a jacket…something to match those Horntail pants though…" Fred disappeared into the array of Dragon products. A few minutes later: "Ah ha!" Sounded from behind one of the rows over. "Perfect…" Fred was saying with a wide grin.

"Here put this on." He said, handing Harry a beautiful black jacket. It zipped up, and Harry was strongly reminded of a muggle biker jacket when he looked at it. There were buckles and zippers everywhere, interior pockets, hidden pockets, all kinds of functions that Harry was sure he would most likely never use. And when he slid it on, he noticed that it was lined with satin.

"What's in it?" He asked, feeling some kind of insulation between the satin and leather.

"Is that the Hebridean?" George asked. Fred nodded with a big smile. "Nice." George seemed excited. "It's got Hippogriff down inside it, warmest feathers you can find besides Pegasus down. But Pegasus down is too rare."

"Toughest skin there is, this jacket should stop most everything there is for anyone to throw at you." Fred told him. "It's made from a Hebridean Black. They've got some of the toughest hide there is, even if it isn't very soft." Harry understood what Fred meant when he ran his hand along his own arm. The scales were rough and ridged, sharp and painful if pressure was applied.

"Okay." Harry said, stepping in front of the mirror. He gaped at himself. He looked amazing. "This is bloody amazing…I actually look good in this…not weird…" he thought out loud. He started looking at price tags.

Pants: 100 galleons

Vest: 125 galleons

Moccasins: 150 galleons

Jacket: 230 galleons

That meant that he owed them 605 galleons. "Alright. Time to go to Gringott's then." He said.

"No, the lot is _free_, remember?" George said sternly.

"I need money for all the other things, Mr. Brilliance." Harry retorted. "And you're going to take at least half-payment."

"No-" Fred began.

"No arguments. Half or I'll just drop the full amount in your savings account where you can't touch it, so shut up." Fred's mouth snapped up.

"A quarter?" He pleaded.

"A third." Harry bargained. "Final deal."

"Third it is." George said resignedly. "Though you should just take the bloody clothes for free."

"He's going to get six outfits, so you should take half payment, at least." Alima told them.

"See!" Harry told them.

"You're a right walking advertisement, so that makes it even." George told him.

"Fine." Harry replied with a small smile. "To Gringott's!" And they left in a whirlwind of chaos and locking doors. Harry almost forgot to put Alima on her favorite perch: his shoulder, before they left. She purred her appreciation for the new jacket and sunk her claws into it for stability as they walked briskly back down the alley towards Gringott's.

They were escorted into the bank by two Goblins, swords drawn and pointed.

"Lagnok will take you to your vault." The old goblin at the counter told Harry, Fred, and George after he had tested the key for eight different enchantments. A short goblin appeared on Harry's left; Harry noticed that he too wore chain mail and even a small sword and dagger, though he didn't draw it on them as the others had done.

"Follow me." He instructed in a gruff voice.

"Ooooooh, here comes my favorite part!" Fred told George excitedly.

"Yes, dear brother, I know." George said in all manner of calm. "It's mine too!" He squealed a second later and they danced around each other while they waited for the door to open and admit them to a cart.

"They're not mine, I swear." Harry told the goblinLagnok when he caught the side-glance in his direction.

"Would you like me to leave them to find their own way out?" He asked evilly, grinning hopefully.

"I wish…problem is, if their mum ever found out, it'd be _me_ getting left somewhere where they'd never find me." He chuckled andLagnok looked disappointed.

"Stay in the cart if you don't want to stay in the tunnels." Was allLagnok said before pulling the lever.

"Whhoooooooooo-hoooooooooo!" Fred and George screamed together throwing their arms up in the air. "No hands!" They crowed, their voices ripped away as they were traveling so fast.

"Vault Six-hundred and eighty seven." A disgruntled and crampedLagnok announced upon arriving at Harry's vault.

"So I should get out…. like…. four-or five hundred galleons…" Harry unlocked his door and stepped inside to see the mountains of silver, gold, and copper. "Five is better…" and he moved forward.

When he had counted out the full five hundred, he pulled some sickles and knuts into his pockets and moved to leave. Fred and George were sitting with the goblin Lagnok.

"So then I grabbed him around the waist and threw him into the broom closet. Fred did the rest."

"I made his face all gold, and his hair was red…. oh it was classic. And then we put him in a lion costume and knocked him out. And to make it better, we'd stripped him down and cut out the bottom of the costume." Fred slapped his thigh in mirth. "Oh man..."

"Then of course we had to apply a shrinking charm…" George sniggered. "Stupid prat was so disoriented from our confounding spell he wandered the castle for an hour trying to figure out where he was, and why his bare arse was so cold."

"Who was that?" Harry asked, climbing into the cart.

"Flint."

"When did you do that? I never heard about it."

"End of third year, you were only a first year, and you were in the infirmary anyways. It was _hilarious_." Fred told him.

"Yeah, we've been regalingLagnok here with some of our school tales. He doesn't believe us." George said, looking wounded.

"How could you not believe that two teenage schoolboys would sneak out of school to go to town and buy fire whiskey, candy, and dung bombs, or that they would put a swamp in the middle of the hallway, or befriend the local poltergeist, or set off fireworks that wouldn't go away in the corridors, or fly away near the end of seventh year without ever getting their diplomas and starting up the world's most flourishing Joke Shop? How on earth could anyone _not _believe any of that?" He asked sarcastically. "It's all true." Harry promised Lagnok sagely.

"And you're Harry bloody Potter." The goblin said snidely. Harry glanced up.

"Yes, actually, I am." He pulled his hair up and the goblin's eyes squinted.

"Damned wizards…" Harry heard him mutter.

Harry gladly climbed out of the cart and stepped out into the misty weather a few minutes later.

"Back to the store." George said briskly.

"I need to get an Invisibility Cloak and a wand brace though." Harry told him.

"Oh, we have those back at the shop. You can get them to match your shirt too." Fred told him as they were confronted with another set of goblin guards.

"And we'll order and Invisibility Cloak when we get back, you can't exactly walk into a store and buy one, you know. particularly not these days." George said gravely.

**Author's Note:** They'll be moving on shortly...just had to give Harry some new clothes. New and interesting clothes. What do you think?


	6. And Back To The Dursleys

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 6:**

And Back To The Dursleys

Harry walked into the apartment after George, and went to sit across from the Twins in one of the armchairs.

"We're supposed to meet Agatha at the station at seven. It's only four. What are we going to do?"

"Well you, good sir, are going to go downstairs and get more clothes from the back room, Fred's down there now, and then you are going to go home, and you'll be taking _this_ little guy with you." George pulled out an owl as small if not even smaller than Pig, and handed him over to Harry. "Ask if you can leave for the summer, we want you here. Merlin knows you're most likely safer around here where someone can keep an eye on you than back at the Dursley's."

"And I'm guessing that he is so that I can reply?" Harry said, motioning towards the tiny owl. George nodded.

"His name's Cliff, and he'll sleep in your pocket, so if you need to put him somewhere just set him down in your pocket – careful not to ruffle his feathers though – and he's good to go."

"Perfect. I'm going to grab those extra pairs of clothes and be on my way then."

"You're going to be escorted all the way to your Aunt." George said firmly. "Don't leave without one of us with you." Harry nodded. He was unused to seeing the Twins act so responsible, but he figured that running their own business without help for a few months might help with their maturity just a bit.

"Alright."

He went downstairs, and began browsing the racks once more. He gotsix more pairs of pants, a bright green shirt made from Welsh-green, scarlet from a Chinese Fireball, black from a Hungarian Horntail, dark green from a Romanian Longhorn, copper from a Peruvian Vipertooth, silverish-blue from a Swedish Short-Snout, and iron gray from a Ukrainian Ironbelly. Once he had made sure that he had one shirt of every color, he grabbed an exrta Welsh Green shirt, and then moved to where he imagined he might find wand braces.

And find them he did. These also came in every kind of Dragon skin there was, he was amazed.

"Get one for every outfit, The Saviour of The Wizarding World has to look the part, remember?" George said from behind him.

"I couldn't..." he started. But George glared at him. "Fine."

"Remember, you're a walking advertisement. Just tell people where you got it all, and we're even." he said firmly. Harry sighed, and grabbed pairs of gauntlets, trying each of them on. Once he knew what his wrist size was, he grabbed a pair of every kind.

Once that was finished, and all was stowed safely in his bag - except for the pair of Antipodean Opaleye armguards - he and George slowly began making their way out of the room. But then a glass cabinet on his left caught his eye, and he moved towards it. In it, he found a huge array of Dragon bone weapons and ornaments. "Whoa..." he breathed in awe. "What are they all for?"

Next to the torques and armbands were dragon teeth. He knew that these were used in potions sometimes, but that most people used them for ornamentation. He knew also that Ron had a dragon tooth necklace up in his room; a gift from Charlie that he didn't wear it because it was so heavy. They were supposed to have a slight magical aura that would give the wearer extra strength; but it had never been proven.

"Bit of everything. Mostly protection spells though, do you know how many wizards can't put up a decent blocking spell?"George asked.

Harry smiled. "No. I'm guessing a lot though." George nodded.

"They're some of our top sellers, particularly the torques, as they protect the head and neck. Bloddy hell...wizards these days..." George shook his head sadly. "But our other things are the weapons. Dragon bones are particularly difficult to break, and enchant, but every one of ours has a spell. some will knock a victim unconscious - aurors like that one particularly, as that way when they're in close combat they can stab someone without killing them - other ones actually do kill. and some people get spells requested, but those cost more." he smiled at Harry.

"You'll be getting some of those once you've learned how to use them all." Alima said into his ear. "We're going to get you into shape and then teach you hand-to-hand, sometimes it's more efficient than using magic." Harry nodded.

"I'm ready to go whenever one of you is." He told George. George nodded and turned around, heading for the exit once more.

"Let's get a cup from Tom and then leave." Harry told him.

"Sounds good, we're off." AndGeorge led the way out of the store, past the counter whereFred was handling a group of shoppers. "See you in a bit, dear brother!" He called as they walked by.

"Is that him?"

"You think?"

"Look at his face, it's the same as all the pictures!"

"Well ask him, go on."

"Mr. Potter, sir…" a squeaky voice asked from below his waist. Harry stopped, and leaned forward to look at the tiny girl before him.

"Yes?" He inquired when she just stared up at his face mutely, her mouth hanging open. He noticed uncomfortably that she was staring at his scar rather than the rest of him.

"Could you sign my book for me?" She squeaked after a few moments of awed silence. Harry smiled indulgently.

He took the proffered quill and signed the inside cover with a flourish. Then he closed it to see what book it was. The Rise And Fall Of The Dark Arts. He smiled weakly and handed the object back.

"Thank you." She squeaked, and ran to hide in her father's robes.

"Thanks so much, Mr. Potter. She's always been a fan, quite fascinatedby you." The tall dark man said with a warm smile.

"No problem. Just don't eat any of Fred's candy…unless you want to turn into a chipmunk." He warned her with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah Harry…c'mon, I thought you wanted to leave already?"George groaned, waiting for him at the door.

"Being a celebrity is hard work, George." Harry said in a mock-hurt voice.

"Oh…. tcha."George grumbled. But Harry could see that he had his wand concealed in his sleeve and was carefully looking all around them. "Need anything else?" He asked.

"Nope…I've got my bag with everything in it, and Cliff here in my pocket…so I'm set."

"Good, cuz you would've been screwed otherwise, because we're not coming back."George said with a lopsided grin. "At least not today."

**Author's Note:** Okay, next we'll find out if Harry's allowed to leave, and then some new things too. Review! And yes, I know it's still moving slow. And yes, I know it's still only the beginning of summer...but there's so many ideas in my head! I have to get them across to you guys so it makes sense, which means thatI have to walk you through it slowly...slowly...yes, sorry. we'll get there though...we will.


	7. Planning To Leave

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 7:**

Planning To Leave

Harry let himself into Number Four Privet Drive, and was surprised to find that the house was eerily quiet. "Anybody home?" He called out tentatively. His hair stood on end when no response, not even an admonishing shout came at him.

He waved Agatha back and stalked down the hallway towards the kitchen, he was grateful for his new mocassins, they made no sound whatsoever on the carpeted floor. Upon pushing open the door, he saw Petunia washing dishes docilely at the counter. Vernon sat comfortably perched on the couch, and all five of his cousins along with Bernice were seated in a silent group in front of him. They were all watching a movie.

He breathed a sigh of relief, surprised that he had been momentarily worried about the fate of his relatives. Then he moved silently back down the hall, and smiled reassuringly at her, waving her inside and taking her shopping bags from her.

"Sorry about that, I've always been a bit paranoid..." He said quietly. "Everyone is in the kitchen watching a movie." He said as jovially as he could. She nodded and moved down the hall. He headed upstairs to his bedroom without any more comments.

Upon entering his room, he set the bag down on the bed and Alima down next to it, and then he started pulling things out of it. che pulled every new garment he had out and laid them on his bed. after that it was his gauntlets, and then his pouch of money. he realized he still had nearly a hundred galleons in it, and some change.

"So what'd ya get?" Came a voice from behind him. He'd turned and raised his hand in mid-spell before he even thought about it. Seeing Fred and George both so paranoid had made him rather jumpy too. But a thoughtful look was on Alima's cat face that both of them missed.

He dropped his hand quickly. "Just some stuff…" he said,waving to the pile of dragon leather. "New clothes mostly." She moved to unfold everything and look at it.

"Why did you get this stuff? it looks like part of some medieval costume." She told him, Harry laughed heartily.

"I don't know. The man who sold it to me swore it was dragon but…you never know…" he said seriously. Her eyes danced and she laughed. "Nah,I got it from a friend of mine. He didn't tell me exactly what it is, but he did invite me to stay with him for the rest of the summer. I accepted, but i have to talk to Vernon before it's definite.

"I wish it were…" she said, her smile fading. "Real dragon skin,I mean. That would be amazing…real dragon." His smile faded at the sadness he could tell was behind her happy façade.

"You've obviously never met one." He told her dryly. "They're just big and mean and all they want to do is burn you into cinders or tear you to pieces." He shrugged. "Nasty things." He began hanging up all of the new clothes. "But I've got to handle all this, and get a jump start on packing. I know Vernon will be only too glad to get rid of, it's a most definite yes…I'll be downstairs later though. Promise." He smiled at her as she left.

Once she was gone he sat down heavily and locked the door, then silenced it. He had taken off the jacket as soon as he entered the room and hung it on the back of his chair, and then he remembered that Cliff was still inthe pocket. He pulled the comfortably slumbering bird out and laid him on the pillow, shaking his head all the while at the small creature.

"Imagine." Alima said suddenly. Harry froze, imagining himself changing, growing fur, legs shortening, arms reshaping, joints reconfiguring...what it must be like to _be_ a hyena, all the smells, sounds, what the ground would feel like to him were he that much shorter and having four legs, the perspective. He re-imagined himself shifting form again and again until she told him to stop. He must have walked himself through the process of it five times. "Now imagine changing, and then changing back to human form, and then changing back to hyena form." She instructed. He stood up tall and closed his eyes. He thought about changing into a hyena, and then thought about changing back. He found the process of changing back easier than changing into, and he paused totell her so.

"That's because you're human, it's easier to imagine yourself as a human than as a hyena." She replied with a smile. "Once you've shifted though, you'll never forget what it feels like though, and it'll be easy." She assured.

"Fred and George want me to spend the rest of the summer with them." He told her directly. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea. The warding spells they have placed on their home are very, very strong. I'm sure they helped Albus set them up. They seem like decent enough people, I'm not too worried about you getting into trouble with them around. More like them getting into trouble with you around." She smiled. "And I think it's probably good because you'll be right in the middle of an all-Wizarding community, which is bad because everyone will know who you are, and good because everyone will know who you are. Not to mention you could learn a lot from them. As crazy and inane some of the things they have _are_, they are _far_ from incompetent young wizards." She said sensibly. "I'll owl Dumbledore immediately to clear it with him, you can owl them just as soon as you've spoken with your Aunt and Uncle." She told him.

"Yes!" Harry unlocked the door with a snap of his fingers and headed downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen, he noticed that everyone was just sitting down to dinner. He sat right next to Vernon, and Nora sat on his other side.

"What the hell are those?" Vernon asked after looking at his new clothes. "This isn't a bloody freak show!" Vernon's fork clattered onto the plate angrily, and Harry's face clouded as attention was turned onto them.

"I need to talk to you Vernon." He said in an undertone. "I'm going to leave early. I got an invitation to stay with some friends of mine." He said after taking a quick bite of food. "I needed to clear it with you before I let my Headmaster know where I'll be."

"Fine." Vernon said, face paling. "But you're finding your own way there."

"Oh I'm sure they'll find a means of transportation." He smirked at Vernon's suddenly pale face. He was almost positive that Vernon was reliving the summer before his fourth year, when the Weasleys had used Floo powder to get him. Harry finished his small meal in silence before returning promptly to his room.

Harry was thrilled. He was going to be spending the rest of the summer with the Twins! Of all people, Harry had _never_ imagined himself hanging out with the Twins. They had always been aloof, just Ron's crazy older brothers.

He right skipped up into his room and plopped down to write a letter, not bothering to close the door or lock it.

"What's that?" Nora asked, eyeing Cliff. "Did Alima drag something in? You shouldn't have it on your pillow." she went for a closer look.

"Er…" he started. "Well, you know, it's just sleeping. It'll wake up in a few minutes and I'll let it go." He scratched the back of his head anxiously.

"Oh good. So what are you doing?" She asked happily, sitting on his bed next to a lounging Alima and stroking her.

"Oh, this and that…just handling a letter right now. Letting my friends know I'll be staying with them for the summer, you know…"

At that precise moment, Hedwig flew into his window. Nora's jaw dropped when Harry stood to allow her landing on his arm. he was suddenly more thankful than ever to have the gauntlets. Hedwig seemed appreciative also, as she was squeezing his arm tighter than usual for better balance.

"Hello pretty girl…" he soothed, she rubbed her beak along his finger affectionately. "Has Hermione replied?" Hedwig's leg stuck out and he pulled the letters off it with one hand, and then set her gently on the back of his seat. "Let's see what she wrote."

He opened the roll to find a letter from Neville, and another one from Hermione.

_Dear Harry;_

_I'm doing perfectly fine here, thanks. My tutor is very helpful, and I've learned a lot. She's telling me I'm only third behind you and Hermione! Now that's surprising. I'm going to be visiting the Burrow later this summer, they asked me to come. I'm happy about that. Gran says she's not so sure about my going, but if I'm not safe with the Weasleys then who am I safe with?(besides Dumbledore of course)Anyways, I hope your enjoying your holidays much, and I'll probably be seeing you sometime soon. Keep writing! Good talking to you,_

_-Neville Longbottom_

Harry was happy to see the boy's cursive drawl. And it was good to know that Neville would be at the Burrow with Ron and the rest of the Weasleys, Harry figured he'd be there at some point during the summer also. But he immediately moved onto Hermione's letter.

_Harry:_

_Hey Harry! How are you? Good I hope. I'm learning loads here, but I hear you're still ahead of me…I'll be fixing that soon enough. Anyways, I just got an invitation to the Burrow, and Ron says you'll be getting one too soon, Luna should be there also. I'm really hoping that there might be some order members there to teach us extra magic. Not that I'm not learning enough already or anything…but it's always good to know extra! Anyways, let me know what's going on over there…and give me another phone call soon, if you could. I get bored during the day…I can't do practical work yet, as I haven't built up my stamina enough, and book reading only helps so much. But get back to me when you can…hope to hear from you soon!_

_-Hermione Granger_

"Well, what'd they say?" Nora asked. "Is that one from your girlfriend?" She asked coyly, pointing at Hermione's.

"How'd you know it's from a girl? And no, she's not my girlfriend; she's my best friend in the whole world. But my friend likes her." He said, remembering Fred. "He likes her a lot." A wicked grin spread across his face. "Ha…wait 'til she finds out…"

"The handwriting is pretty and it's neat and tidy. Guys aren't like that." She looked to his scrawled letter pointedly. He nodded in agreement. "So…why is there an owl in here?" She asked tentatively. Harry thought having Hedwig around was normal, and he hadn't even considered that other people didn't.

"Oh…she's Hermione's pet…Hermione lives on this huge estate, and her parents research animals. She's got all kinds, and they trained her to go back and forth between our two houses, what's more, she carries things too." He lied quickly, and then held up the letter to prove it. He heard Hedwig's indignant hoot at being called a normal bird and turned to stroke her. It was just at that moment that Cliff decided to wake up.

He sat up and blinked, his large yellow eyes taking in the room around him slowly. Then he saw Hedwig and fell over again. Harry looked at him worriedly. And Alima stood to inspect him. "Get away from it you naughty cat!" Nora said, pulling Alima's struggling body away from the tiny owl.

Harry caught Alima's glare, but Nora didn't. Alima quickly wriggled away from the girl and stalked back to Cliff. Nora went for her again. "No, she won't do anything to it. She doesn't kill things." He said, pulling back on Nora's shoulder. He was still stroking Hedwig carefully.

It became uncomfortably silent. Then Harry moved forward to put his money back in his backpack, as it might raise odd questions. He zipped the backpack closed and put it in his closet. Nora just sat on his bed next to Alima and made sure she didn't do anything to Cliff.

So he sat back down and reread Hermione's letter so that he could reply.

_Hermione;_

_Yeah…I wouldn't know about building up stamina or anything…never had to do it…you know…just kidding. The first few times I used wand less magic, I had to think really hard and got a headache. But once you're used to using it, it's easy as pie. And the Dursleys are being the usual…unmoving and uncaring. Though my cousin Nora is rather interesting sometimes, despite the age and world difference. Her and her family (all three siblings…Urgh) are visiting with their mum. I'm surprised Petunia hasn't had fits already. And I don't know if I'll be receiving an invitation to the Burrow, necessarily, as I've already received an invitation to stay with the Twins. I'm sure you'd be plenty welcome too, if you feel so inclined. I'll ask them for you. Anyways, I'll call you if I get a chance, it probably won't happen, as I'll be with the Twins, and they don't have a Muggle telephone, as far as i know. But wait until you see me! Anyways, I'll get back to you as soon as I can, and please be sure to get Neville's letter to him as soon as you can? Thanks! Talk to you later,_

_-Harry_

He signed the note with a flourish and rolled it up, carefully tying it to Hedwig's leg. Next he wrote Neville's letter, congratulating him on doing so well and asking after health and progress and such. Then he sat down to write the note to the Twins.

_F & G Weasley:_

_I write to you with utmost regret, I will be coming to spend the summer with you. I'm sorry. My uncle told me that he wants me 'the hell out of here' just as soon as it can be arranged. That means you're welcome to come over anytime and poison Dudley and pick me up simultaneously. Anyways, just let me know when it's good for you guys to come and get me, so I can be ready. I'll see you soon!_

_-Harry_

_P.S. I told Hermione thatI was going to stay with you guys instead of at the Burrow, andI asked her if she'd like to come along too, I'm sure you two (or at least Fred) would be quite willing to accommodate her...ha, see you tomorrow._

_-HP_

He rolled it up and after seeing Hedwig off, turned around and picked up Cliff, the tiny bird balanced on his finger perfectly.

"You alright there pretty boy?" He cooed. "Go off and give this to George for me." He tied the parchment to Cliff's leg and held the little owl out the window.

"But he's still sick –" Nora started. Harry turned around and smiled at her.

"No he isn't, he's just tired. Owls are nocturnal, remember?" He said gently.

"But Alima hurt him…" she started.

"Alima did nothing to him at all." Harry assured. "But I have homework to do now, and I have to pack to stay with Fred and George, so I'll have to talk to you tomorrow." And he gently ushered her out of his room.

**Author's note:** Do you guys think Hermione will go stay over there? Or not?


	8. Leaving Pranks

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 8:**

Leaving Pranks

"Wake up sleepy-head." Came a hissed whisper in his ear.

"Get your lazy arse out of bed!" Came an almost identical voice on his other side right in his ear at _quite_ a higher volume.

He was vertical in two seconds.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here at…" he tried to focus on the digital clock next to his bed, but failed and was forced to slip his glasses on. "Blinkin' six thirty in the bloody morning?" He asked.

"We're here to pick you up, dear heart." Fred said in a very perky voice. "Here, caffeine is good for you." Fred handed him a cup of conjured coffee.

Harry glared at him around the rim of the glass as he gulped it down.

"Why the hell are there people here at six thirty?" Alima's voice came from under the covers on his bed.

"We're going to stay with the Twins." Harry replied. "Up." He pulled the blankets back to find a sprawled and half-awake Alimaon his bed. "C'mon, get anything you have or you need and lets go." He adjusted his pants that he had slept in, pulled his boots over them, tied them up, grabbed one of his green dragon shirts, tied it on, stuffed the jacket into his trunk, and went to walk out.

"Oh crap, my wand. Might want that later." He said, grabbing it out of his desk drawer and clipping it into the gauntlet on his right arm.

"You think?" George asked sarcastically.

"I gotta leave a note for my Aunt and Uncle." He shrunk his trunk and pocketed it, then snuck down the hallway. "Meet me at the front door." Hewhispered tothem.

"Vernon…" he knocked gently on the door. No response. He knocked again for good measure, and then decided to just conjure paper and a pencil and leave a note.

_Vernon-_

_My friends came to pick me up this morning. I would have told you but you're asleep. I'll see you next summer._

Harry stuck it right on the door where he knew it wouldn't be missed and padded off downstairs.

"Nora…" he gently woke her sleeping form from where she was on the couch. "I'm leaving now. Thought you might like to know. Won't see you again for a very long while." He grinned weakly into her sleepy face. "Here." He gave her a big hug, and slipped a silver locket around her neck. "That way you don't forget me." He winked at her and stood. She was sleepily examining the silver piece and not saying anything.

"Thanks." She whispered as he moved to walk away. "Will I be able to write you letters?" She asked.

"I'll write you, and every time an owl shows up, you'll know its me." He promised quietly. "See you around." He promised.

He made his way to the door quietly. "Where's George?" He asked, seeingFred alone by the door.

"Upstairs being George. Here's the portkey, it'll activate any second…as soon as George gets downstairs I'd think." A sudden thud was heard from above Harry's head, and George came sprinting into the foyer.

"Go, go, go!" He hissed, touching the muggle cigarette lighter.

"What the hell did you do?" Harry asked just as they were whisked away through to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

"As soon as dear Dudley stands up out of bed, his room will smell of moldy dung bombs and everything in it will light up with Weasley's Famous Ever Start Never Stop Fireworks. I think it's a fitting goodbye." George said upon regaining his balance in front of the shop.

Harry grinned widely. "Wish I could see that…or at least hear it." He said, and shrugged. "I just hope you haven't throughly ruined my place to stay,I _do _actually need them you know...blood magic and all that."

"Let's get your stuff upstairs…we made you a room…and just to let you know, you'd have been coming over whether your Uncle said yes or no." Fred, who was walking ahead of him, informed him.

"I figured. Why do you think I was packed and ready to go at that hour?" Harry smiled.

"Let's get you settled in, then we can go to St. Mungo's." George said.

"Why are we going to St. Mungo's?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"To get your eyes fixed. Dumbledore reckons you're better off having your sight." Fred explained, unlocking the door to their apartment. "Your rooms there." He pointed to his right, and sure enough a door was there next to the kitchen. Harry went over and pushed open the door.

"Nothin' fancy of course, but you're connected to the bath and kitchen both. What more can you ask for?" George stood in the doorway with his Twin right beside. Harry took in the square, empty space that had gold carpeting and burgundy walls. "You need furniture…. don't you." George stated resignedly. "Looks like we'll be stopping after Mungo's, dear brother." Fred shrugged.

"Just set your stuff down, and let's go to Mungo's then." George said. Harry pulled the tiny suitcase from his pocket and enlarged it, then set it against a wall, he pulled the Hebridean jacket from it before leaving. "Let's be off."

They set off towards The Leaky Cauldron briskly, obviously trying to get away from the deserted alley as fast as they could. Harry still couldn't believe that it was so bare.

"Care for a mug?" Tom called as they strode past.

"On the way back in, Tom." Harry said politely and they stepped out into London.

**Author's Note:** Please don't hate me for moving slow, I just have top set up this next thing. You'll see if you keep reading.


	9. New Vision

**Disclaimer: I have no intention of making aney money off of this story,I give all credit for characters(and histories of said characters)to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 9:**

New Vision

They caught the Underground through the city, and Harry was quickly unfamiliar with their surroundings, but George seemed to know rightwhere they were. They got off after twenty minutes and George led him and Fred up onto the street and then down two blocks. They stopped in front of a familiar old department store, and George politely asked the mannequin if he could come in. The answer was affirmative and the three of them stepped through the display window. Harry looked to the directory, wondering just what floor he would be treated on.

"Mr. Potter." Someone called clearly. Harry turned to see a tall young man making his way towards him. "Mr. Potter, I will be your healer for today, my name is Addien Thatcher. If you'll just follow me…" and he turned directly around and headed off down a hallway. Harry got the attention of the Twins and they all followed the rapidly walking wizard into the bowels of the hospital.

"Careful here…there's a cord and you'll trip if you don't watch out." He led them downstairs and then left into a small room. The Twins squeezed in behind Harry and sat on the couch on one side of the room.

"Now most people don't decide to follow through with this procedure because it makes your vision so good it's actually more difficult to see under some circumstances." Harry stared at him with creased brows. "It makes your vision crystal clear, and you can see in the dark also, which means that during the day everything is particularly bright and harder to see." Addien Thatcher continued.

"Why would I_ not_ want vision that clear?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Because it is difficult to adjust to such a thing, particularly older wizards turn down this opportunity as it's too much to adjust to." He paused. "The biggest thing to get used to is the amount of detail. You'll notice things in people's faces that you never saw before, you'll see new depths of color and your depth perception itself will be thrown off. Are you sure you want to do this? It _is _irreversible." Addien looked at Harry with his breath held.

"How long does it last? Like, is this a lifetime commitment, or do the effects fade after a long time the way regular vision does?" Harry asked.

"The effects will never fade, not even a little. It isn't even possible to go blind, well unless you were to physically carve your eyes out." He added as an after thought.

"Alright then lets do it."

"Positive?" He asked once more.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sick of wearing and relying on glasses." Harry took said objects off and handed them to Fred. "Where do you want me?"

"Go ahead and just sit on this stool." And he pulled the seat from a corner and put it right in the middle of the room. "Now blink as little as possible if you could." Addien instructed, pulling his wand out. "_Habeo Peto_." He mumbled, Harry felt his eyes begin to water, and he blinked. "_Facio Convalesco_." He muttered a few seconds later. "_Oculus Per_." Harry could feel his eyes burning, he blinked again. "_Viso Omnis_." And Harry knew it was the final incantation by he tone in which it was said. He was still staring at the wall as hard as he could. His eyes were still burning, and he blinked again.

"Go ahead and close them, if you would." Addien told him. Harry felt the wand tip touch each eyelid. "Open." Harry opened his eyes and looked directly into Addien's face. It was the most peculiar thing Harry had ever seen.

Every single ridge, line, wrinkle, and indentation on Addien's face was crystal clear. It was like looking at a map. Harry had thought Addien had a very clear complexion upon meeting him, but looking at the strange thing before him, he definitely changed his mind.

"Could we turn on the lights now?" He heard George ask. Harry looked over to him. Just then he thought he'd gone blind. White seared across his eyes and he had to blink several times before anything would again come into focus. He stared at Fred and George in fascination, watching expressions flicker across their faces. George was watching him just as keenly, while Fred seemed to be off thinking about something else, but still focused on him. Harry could tell these things by simply looking at them and seeing the details that he hadn't been able to before.

"How are you?" Addien asked. Harry turned back to him.

"Fine."

"Do your eyes hurt? Is there any pain?" Addien had lit the end of his wand and was leaning forward, peering intently into Harry's eyes, obviously making sure that they dilated properly. Harry shook his head. "Look as far to your right as you can without turning your head." Harry obliged. "Now look as far into that corner as you can. Now up. Now in that corner, and to your left. Down to your left, and straight down, and down to your right. Thank you." He leaned back and looked at Harry. "There is nothing wrong with your eyes now, your vision should be flawless. You will most likely experience some headaches for the first few days until your brain learns to adjust to lights more easily, I'll give you some potion for that. I also have eye drops that I want you to use if your eyes start to feel dry." He handed Harry five small vials of red liquid. "These are for the headaches." Then he handed him a bottle of Visine. "A very useful muggle product that my mother once suggested. You can pick it up in any muggle mart if you run out, and all you do is squirt a few drops into the eye that feels dry." He smiled widely. "It was a pleasure having you as a patient, Mr. Potter, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day." And he held the door open for the three of them to leave. Harry fell into step with George ahead and Fred behind.

"It's paid for already?" He asked George as they simply strolled past the front desk.

"It was set up months ago." George replied. "Yes it's paid for." He said. "Now to get you some furniture."

While walking down the street back towards the Underground station, they passed a muggle furniture shop, and a bed with a matching dresser caught Harry's eye. "Let's just get that one." He told them.

"Alright." They entered, got the largest sized bed the shopkeeper had, and then carried it out and around into the back alley.

"Fred can do the honors." George panted, setting his corner down. Fred slipped his wand out, checked to make sure there was no one about, and tapped the bed with his wand. The entire thing shrank to something that could easily fit in a dollhouse. Harry picked it up and put it inside one of the many pockets on his new jacket. "Sheets…pillows…blankets next." George said as they kept walking. A bit further on they found a department store. Harry chose a down comforter, with bottle green sheets and black pillowcases.

"Your room is red, you know." Fred informed him as they walked out.

"Yes with wonderfully gold carpet." Harry smiled at him.

"I'm Slytherin minded and Gryffindor hearted. It's ok." Harry assured him, slipping the miniaturized bedding into his own pocket.

"You're _weird_." Fred corrected.

"That too." Harry agreed with a grin. Once their shopping was finished, they headed to the nearest Underground station. "We're going home?" Harry asked.

"Unless you have other plans?" George raised an eyebrow. "We have to readjust the wards, you have to help, by the way, and then we have to actually open the place up for business. Oh, and you'll be helping with that too." Harry smiled widely.

"Fun."

"Yes I think it may be quite enjoyable." Fred said, walking on his other side.

**Author's Note:** I thought it would be nice if Harry was able to see without glasses. this keen vision will also show up in later chapters...


End file.
